5 Years Later
by The Crafty Imp
Summary: 5 years after the death of Imran Zakhaev Taylor has worked her way into the 141 and the hunt for Zakhaev's shadow 'Makarov' commences. Now in deeper than ever she's breaking at the seams and wondering if she'll ever fulfill the promise she made to her family. Sequel to 5 Years Before. Could count as AU...
1. Prologue: Operation Kingfish

The silence in the Pave Low was just how she liked it.

Newly promoted Colour Sergeant Trafford sighed and cracked her knuckles. She never used the love the quiet before a mission, especially when she was new to the special forces. It made her over think, her anxiety would create situations in her head that she didn't want. Now she finds herself shushing the other men on her team so she can keep a clear head and think straight. She'd changed a lot since Zakhaev's death two years prior, both in appearance and attitude. She'd grown a few inches and her muscles were much thicker than they used to be. Her scarred face was sharper, more defined. Her grey eyes bore a faint but constant haunted look, her strawberry blonde waves had lost their luster and was tied into a tight plait that sat between her shoulder blades. But after she was transferred to a new team she'd managed to retain the sarcastic, easy going personality that the SAS had almost stolen from her. She still got anxious before a mission, and she still carried a few nervous ticks. But she also carried a whole new confident outlook that didn't cause her to question her CO's constantly about her purpose and abilities.

An there was her promotions. But her upgrade to Sergeant was more of a 'sorry for leaving you high and dry in the Altay Mountains' more than anything else. She'd made Colour Sergeant shortly before she reunited with Soap and Price.

Her eyes scanned over the other men. She, along with two young Troopers from her own squad were currently on loan from the SAS regiment. General Shepherd apparently had her under consideration for the Task Force 141 (a piece of information she'd manage to diverge from Captain Price with some verbal trickery)

She still had no idea how the General had heard of her, but there was no denying that she would snatch that opportunity up without hesitation. There was nothing that would make her happier than to fight alongside Soap and Price again. There was Wallcroft and Griffen, who had scraped through the Altay Mountains with them, but she seldom saw them around Credenhill. And whenever she did they only exchanged uncomfortable pleasantries, and half of the time Griffen couldn't even look her in the eye. Taylor had no idea how the friendship became so strained and awkward.

She continued to subtly study the 141 men. The one that had caught her eye straight away was an SAS operative who asked her to call him 'Ghost', no first or last name. The skull-printed balaclava and dark red sunglasses that hid his face set Taylor's nerves on edge and she struggled to make eye contact with him when Soap introduced them. He didn't look like the type you'd want for an enemy, and she was going to fight tooth and nail to keep him on her good side. She glanced at the smaller man next to him.

Roach, she liked Roach. Price observed that the younger man reminded him of her in her first days of the SAS. He was only two years younger than her, but he was a bit clumsy, he stumbled over his words a little while around his superiors and kept his head down most of the time. But once she got him talking about his old unit in the Paras he turned out to be an intelligent, likable man.

Her gaze was eventually met with Soaps, who sat across from her. She threw the Scott a quick grin and a wink. He grinned in return. She'd missed him, she remembered waking up in that hospital in Russia. Convinced she was alone and wishing she didn't survive, wishing she had died with her friends on that bridge. Then Nikolai had shown up with the news that despite being half dead when the Loyalists turned up. Both Soap and Price had pulled through. She couldn't stop herself from jumping into their arms when they met again before takeoff. Even though she was a little jealous that Soap was very likely to make Captain in the next year or so.

The Pave Low began to slowly descend. Taylor did a few routine checks on her weapon out of habit and took a deep breath. She turned to the two young Troopers accompanying her. Shaunessy and Mathews looked visibly intimidated by the Task Force men around them. Taylor probably would be to if she didn't already know the two leaders. She gave the two men an encouraging smile and nodded towards the door as the chopper touched ground. She followed them out and used her weapon to scan the wilderness around her.

The Karkonosze Mountains were silent. This was the kind of silence that Taylor hated. The team had been put together to secure a safe house believed to be holding 'Kingfish' Zakhaev's apparent protege. It made her shiver to think what a man with unlimited resources and more twisted versions of Zakhaev's ideas could do when given the right amount of power.

Taylor kept her eyes on the two Troopers she was in charge of. The two walked in front, flinching at natures little noises. She stifled a chuckle, glad that she was able to grow out of the habit.

''Moving to standby positions'' Price said over the radio. Taylor exchanged a small smile with Soap.

''We count four tangos patrolling the east and west barracks'' The voice of Sandman buzzed in their ears. He and Frost were providing sniper support from a hill. Taylor had to admit, she didn't know what to feel in the presence of two Americans. But Price trusted them, and that was enough for her.

She flinched as four gunshots rang out, almost immediately followed by the gun and rocket fire from an AC-130. Taylor could stop herself from cringing as the missiles obliterated the barracks. Rocket fire will always be the one sound that could make her tremble in fear. The urgent cries of the Russians spurred them forward. Price and Soap took the lead, gunning down two enemies as they went.

''Specter 64, fire in the west barracks'' Price commanded. Taylor glanced up at the AC-130 as it made another pass. She hunched he shoulders as the buildings a few feet from them exploded, sending thousand of tiny shards of glass and shrapnel their way. As the dust settles, Price prepared to move, but was instantly stopped as bullets smashed he brick wall. Soap calmly switched to his grenade launcher, thy were clear in no time.

They pushed forward, with the help of the gunship they were able to make it to the main building without to much trouble. But the huge dust cloud hat formed from the heavy fire temporarily blinded them. Taylor coughed and tried not to breath to deeply. They cleared the smoke, and for good measure. Ghost threw a grenade in the next room. Warnings screamed in a foreign language came to late as two bodies were blasted back into our view. They hit the ground motionless. Taylor pushed forward and did a quick scan of the area.

''Clear right'' She announced. Before she could confirm a 'clear left' two Russians came into view. She wasted no time in killing them before they could level their weapons. She heard more gunfire behind her, then Ghost appeared at her side. Sharing a quick nod, they both proceeded to the hallway. Silence.

''Hallway clear'' She called to the others.

The team ten turned into a narrow hallway. Taylor inwardly groaned at the close quarters. Enemies appeared from numerous rooms, she brought up the rear while the others shot and killed their way down the corridor. Price came to a stop.

''141 has arrived'' The old Captain announced. Taylor could hear the smirk in his voice. She watched as Roach planted a small charge on the wall. The controlled explosion momentarily stunned her. But she gathered her wits in time to squeeze her eyes shut when she saw Soap throw a flashbang. She followed the two leaders into the dark, dingy, and empty room. Scrunching her nose at the thick musty smell mixed with the blood from the three corpses that lay in the middle of the room. She looked over at the two troopers. Disappointment clear on their faces. No Ultranationalists in sight.

''141 has arrived at target'' Price deadpanned ''There is no sign of Kingfish. I repeat, no sign of Kingfish''

''Copy that 141'' Baseplates relpy came ''Grab any intel you can. if he's not there. Find out where he's going''

Taylor sighed and examined the walls. She spotted some sort of wooden board with multiple satellite pictures, photos and newspaper articles splattered with blood thumb-tacked to it. Her brow furrowed and she stepped in closer to investigate. Allowing her eyes adjust to the gloom, her stomach sank to her shoes at what she saw.

In the center was a photo. A photo of her old SAS team including Price, Gaz, Wallcroft, Griffen, Arem, Mac, Lovejoy and MacDonald. All crossed out with red ink. She and Soap weren't present in that particular one. But they were in other snapshots. One of her was in Russia, probably before they retook the launch facility. She was talking with Griggs, but a red cross was scratched over his head, both of them obviously unaware of the camera. A headshot of Soap in the Caucasus Mountains, most likely taken by Gaz. The articles dotted around them were in Russian. Her stomach knotted when she noticed that her, Price and Soap were the only three that weren't crossed out.

''Price'' She stammered, not taking her eyes away from the display ''You need to come see this''

She heard two men stand either side of her. Price sighed.

''He's targeting Bravo 6'' Soap said in disbelief. They stood in silence for a few more minutes, Taylor tried to process what Soap had just said. _'who's after us?' _she thought. A high pitched beeping noise shook them from their trance.

''Get down!'' Price screamed.

Taylor barely heard what Price was yelling. Her first priority was to haul Shaunessy and Mathews out of the room. She didn't have time to think about where the C4 was planted as a shock wave threw her forward. Luckily for her she escaped the worst of it. She barely managed to regain her footing before they all fled from the ambushed building. She made sure to keep the young Troopers running ahead of her.

They exploded onto the field. Sprinting as fast as their legs could carry them. The V22-Osprey was in view. Two men clad in Gillie suits joined them in their escape. She risked a glance back, scowling in frustration as the Russian pursued in their hundreds. Their escape was made a little more difficult as the AC-130 tried to thin out the Russian ranks. Taylor shoulder her weapon and fought to even out her breathing. A red spark in the sky caught her eye. Specter 6-4 was popping flares. She felt the need to cry out in warning as the RPG rocket flew towards the plane. The gunship didn't stand a chance at the missile clipped its wing. Causing the entire aircraft to explode. Taylor cursed vilely and continued running.

''Keep moving!'' Price yelled. The Russian were hot on their heels now. RPG fire and grenades hitting closer and closer. Shaunessy was knocked off his feet a few times and Mathews was stumbling and clutching his right arm. Lungs burned and legs ached. But no one dared slow down.

A heavy force knocked Taylor sideways, thinking an RPG had managed to hit her she yelled in pain and frustration as her right shoulder slammed into the ground. She squeezed her eyes shut as her head smacked against the rough grass. She tried to fight the disorientation and get into a upright position. A brief, but white hot pain shot through her right side. But adrenaline and the sheer will to escape was enough to make her ignore the pain.

''Trafford!'' She didn't recognize the voice, but she allowed herself to be pulled up by two hands. She fumbled blindly in the confusion until her hands closed around the cold metal of her weapon. She looked up and her eyes were met with Roach's. She found strength in her legs again and half staggered, half ran to the chopper. She looked back, and that's when she saw him.

Price. Kneeling and holding off the Russians on his own. At first, her mind didn't process what she was seeing. But then it clicked. He was staying behind.

''Price!'' She felt the name escape her lips before she could stop it. She tried to run towards him, Roach had a hard time holding onto her and Shaunessy had to help drag her up the ramp. ''Price!'' She screeched again. The old Captain turned and met her eyes, he then made a gesture with his arms and yelled something that sounded like:

''Get them out of here!''

She continued to scream and fight against the men's grip. She picked up on more incoherent yells behind her, clearly from Soap. Her body gradually became weaker and her vocal chords felt like they were about to rip but she refused to give up. She couldn't lose her Captain again. She refused to let him fall to the mercy of the Russians. During a brief lull as she caught her breath, she heard an American desperately trying to make the pilot wait. But the ramp was brought up, and Price was gone.

Taylor collapsed against the side of the chopper and let herself sink to the floor. Her throat felt raw and her vision swam, whether it was tears or exhaustion she couldn't tell. Price was gone, again. But maybe they won't kill him? Maybe they'll take him for questioning. Those theories did nothing to ease her worries, the only way a Russian can ask a question is with a hundred volts, or worse. She shook her head, her brain was in complete denial. Even if they did capture him, god knows what becomes of him then.

She heard someone calling her name, she tore her eyes away from the ramp and found herself looking at Ghost. His hands were pressed against her abdomen and he was practically yelling trying to keep her attention. She frowned in confusion and looked down, she snorted in disbelief at the blood that covered most of her grey jacket. She must of taken some shrapnel damage when she fell. '_You clumsy twat' _she thought to herself. She groaned and coughed as the pain became apparent again. Ghost was still talking to her,

''Trafford? Trafford look at me!'' he called, his words fell on deaf ears. She looked past the skull-printed mask and her eyes met Soap's. She stared at his blood-soaked face, his cold blue gaze nearly wavered as he began to slip unconscious while the medics attended to him. His expression a mix of pain, anger and defeat, she probably carried the same expression herself. She had to avert her eyes after it became painful to even look at him.

Despite Ghost's attempts to keep her conscious, Taylor found herself slipping under. Grief, exhaustion and blood loss creating a toxic mix in her body.

Whoever the hell Kingish was, he knew they were alive, that they were the team behind Zakhaev's downfall. And now he had Price. She knew that something had been set in motion. Things can only take a turn for the worse...

* * *

><p>Soap sat in the armory. Stiff, cold fingers loading the M4A1 in front of him. He waited for Shepherd's response to his mission briefing. The Scott had mixed feelings towards the man, while he was a textbook war mongering leader who lost 30,000 men and women 5 years ago. He had to admit he put a good team together. He continued to watch the old General as he lit up a cigar without even looking up. He clenched his fists, and tried to distract his thoughts from Price before any sort of emotion clawed it's way to the surface.<p>

''That's it?'' The American said in his husky voice. Soap's temper peaked, without thinking he slammed both his fists against the flimsy table. Sending the scattered mags and bullet shells rattling across the wood.

''Who is Kingfish?'' He demanded through gritted teeth. His frustration speaking for him. A small smirk coloured the old Generals features as he pushed a small photo towards Soap. The Scott took in the scruffy hair, mismatched eyes and disheveled features. Makarov. The man who had already cost Soap enough. With the memories of Price still thick in his mind, he thrust the blade he didn't realize he grabbed into the photos left eye.

''We'll get him'' The General let out a low chuckle and turned to leave. He stopped at the door, speaking over his shoulder ''By the way, that girl the SAS lent us...'' He let the statement hang between them. Soap sighed.

''Trafford, sir'' He said quietly. The General grunted.

''I think she'll be useful in the 141'' The old American said ''From what you've told me anyway'' Soap averted his eyes, he felt a strange pang of guilt ''She's and old friend of yours, correct?''

''Yes sir'' Soap mumbled, his grip on the handle of the blade tightened until his knuckles turned white.

''You'll tell her then MacTavish'' The General nodded once and left. Soap closed his eye and pinched the bridge of his nose. Did he really want to drag Taylor into all this? He shook his head and began reasoning with himself. She was part of Bravo 6, this 'Makarov' was after her as well as him and Price. One or two current members may need a little convincing to accept her completely, and with a little more intense training she could be more than capable for the 141. He slowly released his grip on the blade. Losing Price had taken a huge toll on him, he imagined how much Taylor must be suffering right now as well.

He slowly stood. Taylor was in this for the long haul now whether she liked it or not. Soap ran a hand through his mow-hawk and rolled his shoulders. His eyes flitting between the photo of Makarov and the knife he used to stab it. Shepard's assurance didn't set his mind at ease one bit.

''We'll get him'' Soap mumbled to himself ''But at what cost?''

* * *

><p><strong>I gotta admit, this was a struggle. I had no idea how I was going to start this off. But my wonderful little brother suggested to kick-start with the Operation Kingfish mission. I haven't decided whether I see it as canon or not, but I did enjoy the video :)<strong>

**Yeah, I have the audacity to give a short chapter and a crappy ending :/ sorry about that. But this was my only chance to actually get this chapter up and get the sequel off to some sort of start. I know it's a little rushed but i'm revising like mad for my theory driving test and I rarely have spare time now. But i'm chuffed that I actually have a sequel, even though I haven't got the faintest idea of how to continue with this at at the moment :P**

**You may have noticed that I switched to a third person narrative. This was because I want to get in the heads of other characters. I sincerely hope that by some miracle that I pulled it off :)**

**Modern Warfare 2 and all it's characters belong to Infinity Ward. Taylor, along with any OC's in this story belong to me. **

**Anyways, if you're reading these words then I must thank you for getting this far. But now I must ask you to R+R please (it had to be squeezed in somewhere) **

**:)**


	2. Hazard

Once again. Taylor had found herself laying awake at three in the morning, unable to sleep and staring at the ceiling. Her eyes going over each intricate pattern carved into the plaster. Her temple still ached from the injury she sustained only a few hours ago. She rolled onto her side, groaning as she curled up into a ball. Shepherd has had the Task Force all over the place on small, pointless op's based on crappy intel from questionable 'informants'.

The most recent op had been a complete disaster. A small safehouse in a deserted part of Chelyabinsk which Shepherd believed to be containing an anonymous target who supposedly knew the whereabouts of the terrorist Makarov. Of course it was a trap. Much like the compound they assaulted in the Karkonosze Mountains. She forced her mind off of the topic as her chest tightened slightly. But her imagination was unwilling to turn away from any morbid thoughts and she started thinking about the man they'd lost not to long ago.

Canine. She had to admit, she detested the man, her feelings didn't change after his death. The Canadian was arrogant, loud and had a total disregard for rank along with other peoples feelings. He was one of the many men in the 141 who believed that Taylor had abused her old friendship with the Captain to secure herself a spot in the Task Force, and almost always tried to pull rank on her despite them both being 2nd Lieutenants, and their childish insults often resulted in bitter arguments that nearly had Taylor punching the pretty boy smirk off his face. She would of aswell if Ghost didn't keep getting in the way. He prided himself on being the best explosives man in the business, only to end up being killed by an early detonation in one of his own devices. She could only roll her eyes at the irony.

Her two years in the Task Force hadn't been easy. The younger men instantly took against her, throwing harsh insults and slurs her way whenever they could. It was nothing she hadn't already heard, Mac had thrown much worse at her during her days as an F.N.G. Then there was the Captain. She did her best not to blur the line between Captain and subordinate with Soap (she'd even agreed to keep his nickname a secret and call him 'sir') but the carefree camaraderie they instantly formed raised suspicion and the rest of the team soon caught wind of the fact that they used to be on the same team five years ago. And despite their efforts to play down the friendship the rumor mill began turning.

She lifted her head and slammed it back into the pillow in frustration, instantly regretting it as a dull ache pulsed through her forehead. She grumbled and cursed the Russian who clubbed her with his pistol in the split second she broke focus to pull Roach back to his feet after he tripped over a corpse and went flying, giving her a mild concussion. She needed alcohol. Alcohol numbs everything. She could go knock on Royce's door, surely her drinking partner would sort her out with the single malt he kept hidden in his bedside cabinet. But Doc had assigned Roach to wake her up every few hours to make sure she wasn't sleeping for extended periods of time, otherwise she could land herself in a coma. So she'd most likely end up being caught staggering back to her room and sent to rest in the infirmary. Not that deep sleep was a problem, her insomnia had kept her awake for the past month. But that didn't make her any less grumpy when someone tapped lightly on the door.

''Hey Hazard'' Roach's voice called from the other side. Taylor winced at the call-sign, it was given to her by Soap as a homage to her two left feet and the fact that the men from the 22nd regiment used to 'affectionately' call her a walking hazard. ''It's been two hours''

''Fuck. Off'' She growled. She sat up and glared daggers at the younger man as he approached and sat on her bed, she rolled her eyes. ''Alright, i'm still awake. Please go away now'' Roach just laughed.

''So'' He kicked his boots of and crossed his legs ''How'r you feeling? You look good'' Taylor scowled at his badly hidden sarcasm.

''Why are you doing this? I need peace and quiet and Doc refuses to give me any more drugs''

''I need to make sure you're coherent'' He shrugged ''Doc's orders not mine. And I guess it is kinda my fault that you were pistol whipped in the first place'' He studied her for a few moments.

''How's Cobra?'' She felt obliged to ask. Cobra was Canines wingman, or slave. Depending on the perspective. He was the only person who took the whatever shit he dished out. He was shy, and unable to stand up to the Canadian brute. But he wasn't a bad guy from what Taylor could see. Roach shrugged.

''Pretty shaken up'' Roach sighed.

''At least he's free of his influence'' Taylor said. She groaned and cradled her head in her hands as her temple flared up again.

''Does it really hurt that much?'' The younger man asked, when Taylor nodded he bit his lip ''Shit, sorry i'm such a clumsy ass'' Taylor laughed.

''I used to be the same'' She shrugged.

''Still'' He sighed ''Thanks anyway'' He gave her a weak smile.

''Have you spoken with the Captain?'' She asked, swiftly changing topics.

''Yeah, we didn't pick up anything valuable. You didn't miss much while you were unconscious''

''Right'' She pinched the bridge of her nose ''Shepherd got anything else planned for us?''

''Why are you so eager?'' He chuckled ''You just need to rest now''

''Wasn't it was your job to keep me coherent?'' She asked with a grin.

''Fine'' He rolled his eyes. ''It's not definite, but apparently the Captain's only taking one guy for this one''

''Why just one?'' She asked with a frown.

''Not sure, but whoever he picks will find out'' He glanced at the digital clock sitting on her bedside ''I'm gonna let you sleep a little more. I'll see you at breakfast?''

''Yeah'' She sighed and watched as he left the room. She fell backwards and winced as her head hit the pillow. She knotted her fingers behind her head, and went back to staring at the ceiling. Her eyes once again began to go over the patterns and strokes. The more repetitive it became the heavier her eyes got, and soon enough. She was drifting into a rare, and restless sleep.

* * *

><p><em>Helpless, numb, and only hearing the yelling and the sound of bullets being emptied into already broken bodies. A sound she remembers all to well. Unable to move, the only function she can manage is the blink of her teary eyes as she watches the massacre of her team-mates and friends. A shaky hand slowly moves to her stomach, blood pumps in endless streams from the shrapnel wound that shredded her stomach. She felt the burn in her abdomen with every shallow breath she took. <em>

_Her eyes swept over the fiery carnage that was their escape route. Civilian cars lay in burning wrecks on their sides and roofs. Not to far away lay the large tanker that blocked their way. She looked for her teammates. Gaz and Arem lay motionless a few meters away, along with who she suspected to be MacDonald. The only men to be seen were those that were already dead. _

_She looked for Price and Soap. he only two men she knew were still alive. But a bitter, malicious laugh demanded her attention. Her head whipped back round and her heart stopped a what she saw._

_Who else but Imran Zakhaev. He stood over her, holding the pistol he used to kill Gaz. His black eyes twinkled with evil glee as he beheld his helpless victim. _

_She wanted to cry, plead for her life. Anything to keep herself alive. Not caring about cowardice in her weakened state. Zakhaev's face bore no sympathy, just a constant glare as he leveled his pistol. Everything moved in slow motion, the destruction around them blurred into silence. It was just the two of them. Soap wasn't here with Price's pistol to save her now. __All she could do was hold her breath, and wait..._

_Zakhaev's finger lightly brushed the cold trigger. He gave one last sneer before squeezing. She heard the shot and felt the bullet rip through her chest. The last thing she could hear through her pain and sobbing, was Zakhaev's cold laugh._

* * *

><p>Taylor's eyes flew open, she coughed a few times, sat bolt upright and grabbed at the front of her t-shirt with a trembling hand. She looked down at the white Osprey's jersey, only when she was sure that there was no blood did she allow herself to relax. She rolled her tense shoulders and turned to her digital clock. She groaned in disbelief when she saw that it had only been fifteen minutes since she'd dozed off. Shaking her head, she kicked the covers off her clammy skin, threw her legs over the edge of the bed and buried her aching face in her hands. She wanted to get up, but her shaky legs wouldn't support her for more than a few steps.<p>

She flicked the bedside lamp on. The light was a small comfort. She sighed and rubbed the back of her neck, the gunshot still fresh in her mind. Nightmares were nothing new in her line of work, she was used to sleep deprivation. Most of the dreams she had were the usual, falling, having a loved one die, running from something you can't see, or even just being emerged in complete darkness and never able to find a way out. They'd never been a problem for her. But this particular night terror never failed to scare her shitless. Even in death, Zakhaev still manages to be the bane of her existence.

She dreamed about Price sometimes too, but dreams like this were just mini flashbacks of her short time on Credenhill. Oddly enough, it was these memories that were the most painful reliving.

Soap suffered to. She knew he did, even if he never said anything outright. No matter how much they tried to avoid the topic around each other, they were still blindsided from losing Price. He'd hinted that he didn't sleep any more that she did, since her and Ghost were the only two people he'd actually _talk _to. But she'd seen him rigorously cleaning and tweaking that pistol Price slid to him five years ago on that bridge. She'd asked him about it a few times, but she was answered with grunts and annoyed looks. The weapon had become his obsession.

A shiver ran through her sweaty frame. Sleep was futile now, she continued to stare into space. Another glance at the time told her that breakfast was in half an hour. She got up, wincing at the ache in her back. She reached for the least worst smelling t-shirt and jeans and pulled her hair back into a hasty bun. Heavy footsteps that probably belonged to the younger lot of the 141 rang outside her door. She waited for the racket to pass before making her way to the mess hall.

Pushing the double doors open, she automatically headed for the small kitchen, which was currently occupied by Archer who had control of the kettle. Like her, Archer and and anyone else close to the age of thirty were considered the older bunch of soldiers. The two had been good friends since she'd been recruited, the sniper was one of the few men who showed her genuine respect and made her feel welcome in the team. She leaned on the counter next to him and gave him a tired smile as he reached for a second mug.

''Morning Hazard'' The older sniper grinned ''How's your face? You look fantastic'' He quipped sarcastically while glancing at her injury.

''Fuck off'' She chuckled, playfully knocking her hip against his ''But good, thank you'' She gratefully accepted the cup of coffee he handed her with one hand, the other lightly scratched at the paper stitches holding the gash together ''It would of been even better if Doc had those Mickey Mouse plasters but I can make do with plain''

''I would of thought the little pink ones with hearts would be more up your alley'' He chuckled deeply.

''Nope'' She took a generous sip of coffee ''If I want anything holding this pretty face together I'd prefer it to be Disney characters''

''Please'' Archer smirked ''I don't think it matters, the 141 has long since knocked out whatever prettiness that face had'' Taylor mock scowled, nudging him with her elbow.

''Fuck you'' She rolled her eyes ''That is not how you talk to a woman''

''You're not a woman, you're Hazard'' A self satisfied smile flashed across his face at his reply. Taylor paused, drinking more coffee before looking up at him.

''You're a dick. I do enjoy our banter. But you're a dick'' She said simply.

''I know'' Archer yawned loudly. Taylor cocked an eyebrow.

''Am I really that boring mate?'' She asked, her voice tainted with amusement.

''Yes'' He said. They both nodded to Worm as he approached and reach passed them for his hot chocolate sachets. He smirked at them both and went to refill the kettle.

''You guys heard yet?'' The normally quiet African American cocked a quizzical eyebrow.

''About?'' The other said almost simultaneously.

''The next op, apparently it's a two man job. The Captain's choosing who gets to go''

''Hm'' Archer grunted

''Must be a quiet grab and go'' Taylor sighed ''Ten quid says Riley goes''

''It's likely'' Worm shrugged. He then frowned and nodded towards the door. Where a haggard looking Cobra walked in and sat himself at an unoccupied table.

''Shit, that's right'' Archer sighed ''You lost Canine last night didn't you?'' Taylor frowned at him, then remembered he didn't accompany them to Chelyabinsk.

''Yeah'' Taylor sighed ''Killed by his own creation''

''Damn'' Worm said. Though he didn't sound to upset. The tables began to clear as the men began filing to training. Taylor drained what was left of her mug and discarded it into the sink.

''You coming to the pit Hazard?'' Worm asked over his shoulder.

''I'm still supposed to be on bed rest, so i'll just hang out on the range'' She paused and turned to Archer. The range was practically his territory ''If that's okay with you?'' Archer nodded.

''Sure. Toad's crap company anyway''

* * *

><p>The range was empty save for Taylor and the two snipers. She spent most of her time here. Usually to blow of steam after a spat with Canine. Just emptying bullets into targets for hours on end. It wasn't as good for tension release like sparring or boxing. But the range was also a place for the men to throw idle gossip back and forth. Which despite it being childish, Taylor couldn't help but enjoy.<p>

''I bet it's Ozone'' The American accent of Toad echoed through the range. The younger sniper was having one of his many conspiracy bitching sessions. Taylor re-loaded her pistol and exchanged a glance with Archer.

''Why him?'' She asked, humoring him ''He's only been with us for three months''

''So what?'' Toad scoffed ''The little kiss ass could sweet-talk his way into anything''

''I very much doubt the Captain would fall for sweet talk'' Taylor aimed and fired six bullets into the metal targets. Grunting in satisfaction as they hit their mark.

''Who do think it is then?'' Toad asked, straightening up from his prone position. Taylor rolled her eyes.

''I'm not doing this Toad'' She deadpanned. ''Just let it go, it'll probably end up being Ghost anyway''

''Maybe'' Archer agreed ''Whatever this op is, even if it does only need two men it's probably important. MacTavish would want someone he could trust out there''

''Especially if he's only taking one man'' Taylor said.

They fell into a comfortable silence, the quiet only being broken by the gunshots at quiet bickering between the two snipers. Taylor abandoned her pistol and settled for sitting on the table, leaning back against the wall. Occasionally offering an input into Toad and Archer's debates. Her attention was diverted to the doors as they slowly swung open. Roach's head poked through the small gap, she grinned when he saw her. He shut the doors behind him, quickly nodding to Toad and Archer before hopping up on the table next to her.

''Looking to get some target practice Roach?'' She asked.

''No'' He replied '' I was looking for you, and Worm said you'd be here''

''Well'' She sighed, leaning her head back again ''You found me. Whats up?'' She frowned as Roach continued to give her an expectant grin.

''I was just in the Captains office'' He paused, throwing a glance over at the two other men before lowering his voice ''Guess i'm going to the Tian Shan mountains to retrieve an ACS module''

Although she felt a slight, but sharp pang of jealousy. She was happy for her friend. And that she was the first person he wanted to tell. She gave him a smile and a playfully nudged his arm.

''That's fantastic mate!'' She practically squealed ''You must be thrilled''

''I'm shitting myself'' He laughed ''But yeah, it is one hell of an opportunity''

''You're fucking right it is. But a lot of lads probably wanted that opportunity, you might want to watch your back'' She snorted ''So. When do you ship out?''

''Tomorrow at 0700 hours'' He sighed.

''Damn'' Taylor chuckled ''That's pretty early''

''Yeah'' He glanced at his watch ''I just wanted you to be the first to know, don't tell anyone''

''They'll find out eventually'' She shrugged. ''But i'll keep it to myself in the meantime''

''Thanks'' He smiled, he glanced at his watch and sighed ''I better go get my shit together''

''You do that''

* * *

><p><strong>I tried to make it longer and less suckish. But it's short. And sukish. Apologies. But the next chapter will be Cliffhanger, and we'll take it from there :) I think I can do this. Just bear with me :P<strong>

**A big thanks to Butterscotch MacTavish for listening to my endless drabbles. And too GHOST oo007 for being my buddy :P and smokeyuchiha for the encouraging message.**

**Also, listen to 'Where Butterfly's never die' by Broken Iris. It's my theme song for Taylor, it's a little morbid. But I find it strangely fitting. **

**:)**


	3. Three Hundredth time's lucky

Joseph Allen stood in the Generals decorated office, he examined his new tattoo in the wall mirror. A cathedral with five steeples and an eagle on his left shoulder, his blonde hair shaved into a tight buzz cut. The new self image was more than suitable for his new assignment. An assignment he never in a million years thought he would get. The young man turned to the General, who sat in his chair, lighting up a cigar.

''So'' The twenty two year old said with a cocky smirk ''How do I look?''

''Like one of the bad guys'' Shepherd said without looking up. He puffed a thick cloud of smoke and locked eyes with Allen ''Perfect for your undercover assignment'' Allen looked down at the photo of a disheveled Russian that sat on Shepherds desk.

''So Makarov is the prize'' The young man sat

''Makarov's no prize'' Shepherd almost snarled ''He's a whore. A mad-dog killer for the highest bidder'' He tossed an enclosed brown envelope across the polished wood ''Just remember your new identity. It'll keep you alive''

Allen tore the envelope open, the first thing to fall out was a small navy and white badge with an emblem made up of multiple special force's symbols. He read the words Task Force 141, a smirk played about his lips as he ran his thumb over the thread. The General chuckled.

''Welcome to the 141'' He said. Allen nodded and straightened up.

''It's an honor. Sir, when do I meet the rest of the team?'' He asked.

''They're on a mission recovering a downed ACS module behind enemy lines''

''Their feet wet?'' Allen laughed lightly. The General sighed, taking another drag on his cigar and stubbing it out in a crystal ashtray.

''I imagine they just about freeing right now''

* * *

><p>Taylor lightly knocked on the door to the Captains office. Without waiting for an answer she quietly slunk in and closed the door behind her. She grinned at Soap, who was doing what seemed like a last minute inventory check. His desk cluttered with first aid kits, ration packs, rope and ammunition. Price's M1911 pistol sat in its holster on his thigh, and a pack of Villa Claras sticking out of his front Kevlar pocket. Price's favorites. Taylor remembered him smoking at least two before each mission five years ago. Soap looked up and gave her a quick nod before continuing packing his impossibly tidy rucksack. Taylor would kill to be that organized.<p>

''What do you want Hazard?'' He asked without looking up.

''Just came to wish you good luck sir'' She smirked, making herself comfy in the only available chair. She rolled her eyes when he chose not to reply ''Don't be grumpy, I woke up early just to say goodbye to you'' This earned her a hearty if, slightly stressed chuckle from the Scott.

''And I appreciate it'' He said meeting her eyes.

''Good'' She kicked her feet up onto the little space available on his desk ''How's Roach?''

''He's taken a vow of silence'' The Captain sighed, Taylor frowned. ''He's hardly spoken since I told him he was going to Kazakhstan, he only spoke to me when he had to''

''He's just nervous'' Taylor laughed ''He's clearly not as comfortable around you as you thought''

''You think so?'' Soap sealed his pack shut and folded his arms. Cocking a quizzical eyebrow at her.

''Yeah'' She shrugged ''You're the Captain, he's going to be falling over himself trying to impress you. He'll practically be you little robot following orders out there''

''He's already impressed me'' Soap replied with a smirk ''That's why I chose him. He'll be fine'' Silence fell between them, Taylor opened her mouth as a thought came to her.

''You know'' She hesitated, unsure of whether to continue ''You and Roach sort of reminds me of you and Price. The whole, Captain taking the Sergeant under his wing thing, and Roach is just as uncomfortable with you as you used to be with Price'' She chuckled, watching his reaction. His expression was thoughtful.

''Yeah'' He laughed lightly ''You're right. But I guess i'm going to have to build some sort of better working relationship here aren't I?'' Taylor nodded.

''Just try to make him feel more like a partner'' She said ''I'll speak to him before you both go anyway'' Another extended silence fell on them as Soap did his final checks, he cleared his throat. Taylor look at his suddenly pensive face and frowned.

''You alright sir?'' She asked.

''It's just'' He shook his head ''Shepherds had us on these ridiculous ops that always turn out disastrous. How's this one supposed to be different from the hundreds of others?''

''Your never know'' She said, trying to sound encouraging ''Airbases are usually treasure troves for intel''

''You think?'' He didn't sound too convinced, she nodded.

''I think that all we can to at the moment is just go with what Shepherd says'' She sighed ''He's the one that put this team together remember. He's knows what he's doing, we can trust him''

* * *

><p>Soap grabbed a small drill, ordering Roach to go upstairs and search for the ACS module as he tried to pry the slightly broken satellite. He kept his ears peeled and listened to Roach's footsteps. The clang of the large doors to the hangar opening caused the Captain to freeze, he squeezed his eyes shut. He'd been compromised.<p>

Inwardly cursing, he slowly stood up straight and turned to face his possible captors. He winced as he stared down the barrel of about twenty-something guns. He glanced briefly at the second floor, relieved to see that Roach had managed to stay out of sight. Barely moving his lips, he spoke into his radio.

''Roach I've been compromised. Keep a low profile and hold your fire''

''This is Major Petrov!'' A commanding Russian voice spoke through a megaphone ''Come out with your hands up! To enemy infiltrators, we have captured one of your comrades! You have five seconds to comply!'' The Captain resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the obviously fake negotiation

After a few seconds of silence, it was clear that Roach wasn't giving himself up.

''Very well, we give you five seconds to comply!'' The Major's voice was full of forced authority.

Thanking every God and deity he could think of that he had Roach plant the explosives earlier. He returned to his radio.

''Roach, go to Plan B'' He breathed. Every muscle in his body tensed as the Major began a countdown. But Roach had his back, the fueling station behind his assailants went up in flames. Soap used the distraction to grab his rifle and gun down the remaining Russians Roach had missed. He couldn't help but give the Sergeant a small grin at his brilliantly timed detonation.

''Stay close and hug the wall! We'll use the MiGs for cover and cross the tarmac to the southeast!''

The two pushed onto the runway, the MiG they had their sights on exploded into a fireball from a stray RPG meant for them. Soap cursed.

''To the east, Roach! Go!'' Soap yelled, Roach complied and lead the way. Stumbling and instinctively covering one ear as jeeps exploded behind them. He kept going, but stop short as two snowmobiles breezed towards him. He leveled his weapon, killing the drivers and sending the vehicles swerving into the snow drifts. Soap busied himself with the remaining guards. He gestured Roach over and nodded ahead of him.

''To the east, Roach! Go! I'll make a run for the next MiG! Give me some covering fire!''

Roach swiftly reloaded and followed closely behind his Captain and held off any enemies coming from behind. The reached the end of the road. Soap gazed down at the hill, taking two running steps and sliding down the snow on his side. Roach followed suit. Soap pulled himself back to his feet and heard the low purr of an engine. He glanced down at the ice pick on his belt and smirked as an idea cam to him. Grabbing the ice pick from its holder he pressed his back up against a cabin and waited. He counted to three and swung his weapon, using all the strength in his arm he impaled the oblivious driver, cleaving his chest open and using his side arm to deal with guard sitting behind him. He then watched as Roach dealt with a second snowmobile. They boarded the vehicles and plowed towards the extraction point.

''Kilo Six-One, the primary exfil point is compromised! We're en route to the backup LZ using enemy transport! Meet us there! Over!'' He yelled into his radio.

''Bravo Six, this is Kilo Six-One, roger that, out.'' Soap barely heard the reply of the pilot over the roar of the engine. He screamed at Roach not to slow down as four enemy vehicles closed in on them, making it difficult for Soap to determine whether Roach was still behind him or not. He swerved in an attempt to outrun the Ultranationalists. He risked a glance over his shoulder, Roach was still quite far behind.

''Don't slow down!'' He called out ''Keep moving or your dead! Go! Go! Go!''

He struggled with the control for a bit, but managed to wind his way around a patch of trees and out of the line of fire. Relief flooded through him as he saw Roach glide in beside him. At least he hadn't crashed yet.

''Bravo Six, we're at bingo fuel. What's your status, over?'' The Pilots voice buzzed in his ear, Soap growled in frustration.

''Kilo Six-One, we're taking heavy fire but we're almost there! Standby!'' He snapped. He directed his next words to Roach ''Pin the throttle! Keep going!''

Soaps felt his throat jump into his neck as he approach a rather large gap. Leaning forward, he wrenched the throttle forward and closed his eyes as he felt the ground beneath him disappear. Thankfully, the sensation was brief and he bounced as he hit the snow again. He regained control and grinned as the chopper came into view.

''Bravo Six we have you on visual. Get your ass on board! We're running on fumes here!'' The irritated pilot snapped over the radio. Soap rolled his eyes, bringing the vehicle to a stop and swinging a shaky leg over the seat and hauling himself inside the chopper followed by Roach.

''Okay!'' One of the crew members called to the pilots ''They got the ACS! We're outta here!''

As the chopper began it's ascent. The adrenaline began to wear off, causing both men to go limp. Soap looked at the younger man sitting opposite. He reached forward and clasped his shoulder, Roach look up and shrunk back a little. Soap gave him a crooked smile.

''Good job mate'' He breathed. Roach grinned, looking visibly more relaxed. Soap absently removed his Kevlar vest and heavy jacket before leaning back against the cold metal. Relieved that for once. They'd actually got something useful out of a particularly difficult op. Feeling suddenly exhausted after the days events. He shifted to make himself comfortable. And drifted into a well-earned rest.

* * *

><p>Taylor yawned and idly flicked through the channels. The rec room was pretty much dead, most of the men were outside on the making the most of the mild weather on the tracks or kicking a ball around. Taylor however. Was happy to curl up on a ratty chair, drink her beer and watch a football game between two teams she hadn't even heard of before. She'd hoped the alcohol would ease her anxiety a bit. Though she didn't want to admit it, she was a little worried about Soap and Roach.<p>

After ten minutes it became a struggle to hold her head up, the TV screen draining her brain power and boring her to the point of tears. Worm and Chemo, who sat sprawled out on either side of the sofa beside her. Chemo was out cold and Worm didn't look to far off.

She drained the last of her beer and stood. Patting her back pocket to make sure she had her pack of cigarettes, and making her way round the back of the men's barracks. She'd begun smoking again about a year after the Caucasus Mountains disaster, so all the time she'd spent at eighteen chewing on quitting gum and wearing the patch that gave her rashes had gone to pot. But she had a stressful job and a lot of the time smoking was one of the few things that could actually relax her.

Leaning back on the cold concrete, she swiftly fished out a cigarette and gently bit down on the end while she padded herself down for her lighter. She groaned when she remembered leaving it in her drawer this morning.

''Need a light?'' She jumped at the Cockney accent and turned to see and unmasked Ghost. He still wore his usual red sunglasses and his dark red hair was sticking up in every direction, his mask half hung out from his coat pocket. She nodded eagerly, leaning forward as Ghost used a match to light the end before lighting his own. She took a drag and sighed as the nicotine coursed through her system. She looked back at the Englishman.

''Cheers sir'' She said with a grin.

''Anytime'' He smirked in return. A comfortable silence fell between the two. Taylor nibbled on her lip and stared ahead, focusing on her cigarette. Ghost was never one for casual conversation, he was a good listener and made for good company But Taylor made no attempt to start small talk.

The sky became gradually cloudy, the mild temperature began to drop and specks of rain began to fall. Taylor stubbed her cigarette out beneath her boot and zipped her jacket up to her jaw.

''Didn't think the nice weather would last'' Ghost quipped. Taylor chuckled and followed him back to the rec room.

She returned to discover that Meat had stolen her seat. Worm was still in lullaby land, Chemo awake, and curled up watching whatever channel Meat had found. Archer and Royce chatting in the kitchen. She automatically walked over to the fridge to grab a bottle of water to wash the tobacco taste away.

''Alright lads'' She greeted her friends as she closed the door again. They returned the greeting ''Slow day huh?'' she laughed

''Too fucking right'' Royce chuckled ''Been bored shitless all day, we all need a good and dangerous op''

''Guess we'll have to see what Roach and MacTavish bring back from Russia'' Taylor sighed ''And they're not due back for another two days''

''They've probably found nothing'' Archer sighed ''Like every other op Shepherds given us''

''That's the spirit'' Taylor jeered sarcastically.

''Yeah'' Royce laughed ''Stop being such a grumpy bastard. Maybe they've actually found some solid intel this time''

''Three hundredth time's lucky'' Taylor sighed.

* * *

><p><strong>Yup, i'm back with my short chapters and crappy endings! :) R+R please ^.^<strong>


	4. Beginning of the end

**I should probably put a warning here, there's gonna some violence in this one. Don't say I didn't warn you.**

* * *

><p>Taylor sat on her bed reading an old, worn-out book that used to belong to her grandmother. It was some war story, she yawned and put the book back in her bedside drawer when the words stopped going in and she had to read the same page five times. She was stalling, Soap and Roach were due back in twelve hours and she had found herself at a complete loss of what to do with herself. The team had been given most of the past three days off, she'd spent the better part of the last few days in the gym and running PT courses. Her nights were spent with Archer, Royce and a bottle of Jack Daniels, that part she had no complaints about. But now it was ten in the morning, her limbs still ached from the brutal training session earlier and it was frowned upon to be drinking this early in the morning.<p>

She glanced at her watch, the glowing numbers telling her that it had only been half an hour since she opted for reading to pass the time. She rolled her eyes and collapsed back onto the thin mattress, wincing as something pinched her thigh, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her mobile. She idly flipped the old-fashioned Motorola open, smiling softly at the picture of her father, sisters and pet dalmatian on the small screen. It was her fathers idea to get the dog five years ago as a surprise for the twins, and for Taylor to try and prove to them that the military hadn't completely turned her to stone. Especially after they caught wind that she was now SAS. She helped choose him after returning from Russia after she could walk without crutches and hide her injuries properly.

She hated routine civilian life. For the first few weeks she and her father hardly spoke, she was always close to her sisters, who were now pretty much grown up. But she'd found it difficult to settle. She was paranoid, suffered night terrors. And every small noise or slight movement would have her grasping for a weapon that wasn't there. She wasn't the first, almost every soldier that had been through the same trauma walked away with PTSD. Therapy helped, but hiding the whole thing from her family felt just as worse as the whole ordeal. Making fixing the practically shattered relationships with her family almost impossible. Long distance communication was the only way she was able to actually sit down and talk to them, show them that she still cared.

Almost automatically, her fingers found her home number in her contacts list. Her thumb hovered over the green button for a few minutes, she would have to make this quick unless she wanted her mobile confiscated. She pressed call and held the phone to her ear. It rang five times before a groggy, distinct male voice answered.

''Hello?'' Taylor couldn't stop a warm smile darting across her mouth. She swallowed and began pacing around her room.

''Hey dad'' She said, there was a moment of silence on the other end.

''Taylor?'' Her dad gasped, followed by a hearty laugh ''Taylor my love, how are you?''

''I'm alright'' She chuckled, finding that she had wandered into her small bathroom ''I had a few minutes free, just thought i'd see how everyone was doing. how'r the girls?''

''They're fine'' Her dad said, she could practically hear his smile.

''And the girlfriend?'' Taylor asked leaning on the sink, grinning as she remembered Lauren. her dad laughed again.

''We're still in love Taylor'' He laughed ''Hang on a sec, let me go fetch Carys and Ashley''

She vaguely heard him yelling in the background. She giggled to herself, smiling as she picked up on the sound of footsteps as her sister practically dived for the phone.

''Taylor!'' The seventeen year old's garbled, high pitched greeting rang in her ear causing her to jerk her head away. When she was sure they'd quietened down she smiled.

''Hi twinies'' She said using the name that she made for them to save time.

''How's Germany? You still a badass SAS soldier?'' One of the twins, who she assumed to be Carys asked. Taylor rolled her eyes at their innocent ignorance, they always thought war was cool. When really, there was nothing cool about what she did.

''Ah...'' Taylor physically cringed and clutched her stomach in sudden anxiety, realizing she had to lie once more ''It's good'' she lied ''Not that I get out much anyway''

''You're a loser Taylor'' Ashley joked. Taylor just laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her neck.

''So'' Carys butted back in ''Any cool war wounds?''

''Ah...'' She stammered again, spinning around to face the mirror. She bit her lip as she took in the scars along her cheek and temple, along with the most recent one along her hairline. Along with the multiple contusions and scratches along her arms and collar bone ''Nothing serious'' She sighed ''A few cuts and bruises from training maybe. I'm perfectly healthy otherwise''

''Ugh, boring'' Ashley snorted.

''How's college?'' Taylor asked, changing the subject

''That's boring too'' Carys laughed. Taylor listened with a grin as the twins spoke over each other about friends, boys and everything else two teenage girls concern themselves with. She glanced at the clock.

''Hey uh, twinies. I don't have much time could you put dad on please?'' She almost teared up at their protests.

''Okay'' Ashley sighed ''But when are you coming back? You haven't seen Freckles for ages!''

''As much as I miss the dog'' Taylor laughed, then sighed ''But I don't know twinies, I've been all over the place lately'' She paused and bit her lip ''I love you girls, and I promise that i'll speak to you soon''

They mumbled a good bye, guilt tugged at her heart at her younger sisters' misery. There was a brief silence on the other end as the phone was handed over to her father.

''Hi sweetheart'' Her dad sighed.

''Sorry for cutting it short'' She pinched the bridge of her nose ''It's all pretty hectic down here''

''It's all right love'' He sighed ''I understand'' She knew he didn't, but she loved him for trying ''Just take care of yourself love okay?''

''I will'' She swallowed the lump in her throat ''I'll come home in one piece, and give my love to Lauren'' She feebly attempted to lighten the mood.

''I know'' Her dad chuckled weakly ''I love you''

''Love you to'' She said, quickly hanging up.

Stumbling back to her bed and burying her face in her hands. She released a long, pained and frustrated groan. She was going to make it up to them. Whatever it took, even if she ended up handing in her resignation when this whole sodding thing was over.

* * *

><p>''What do you think I should do?'' Taylor asked. Royce sighed.<p>

''Whatever you think is best Hazard'' he answered bluntly without even looking up from his paper. Taylor rolled her eyes. Royce and Archer would always be the two people she went to advice for, they were the only two men aside from Soap who she could trust with topics like this. She had just finished telling him about her conversation with her father and sisters and that she was considering leaving the forces after they bring Makarov down. Being one of the few people who actually spoke sense around the base, he always gave good advice. But this wasn't one of his finer moments.

''Well'' She deadpanned taking a sip of her beer ''You are no fucking help today''

''Look'' He grumbled ''I'm sorry'' he offered halfheartedly

''Really?'' She cocked a disappointed eyebrow ''I bear my heart and soul to you and that's all I get?''

''Hazard'' He finally looked looked up from what he was reading ''I love you, but i'm exhausted, can't you go bug Archer?''

''I saw you first'' She shrugged.

''Hmm'' He grunted ''I have problems of my own here''

''Whats up?'' She asked, though she could probably guess ''Sharon troubles?'' She smirked.

''How did you know?''

''I didn't''

''Right'' He barked a laugh ''I'm just trying to find a date for this damn wedding. But of course, Shepherd refuses to give any of us any leave until the job is done. So it might be a while'' He groaned. Taylor leaned forward and nudged his forearm with the bottom of her beer bottle, that was usually about as comforting as her gestures got.

''She'll wait'' She reassured him ''She knew what she was getting into when she said yes''

''Thanks'' He gave her a small smile.

''Am I invited?'' She asked after a quiet pause. He was silent for a bit.

''Sure'' He smirked ''But you have to wear a dress. No uniforms''

''Like she could pull of a dress'' A new voice chimed in, Taylor rolled her eyes and looked up at Robot. The American was one of the many men she was at loggerheads with for no particular reason on base, he wore his usual smirk. The smirk that made her selectively violent ''Not with those man arms, people will think you're half way through the operation''

''Fuck off'' She rolled her eyes.

''Easy precious'' He quipped

''Twat''

''Touchy'' He chuckled before sauntering off. She turned to Royce.

''I'm not wearing a dress'' She deadpanned.

Before he could respond, the room broke out into loud jeers. Causing Taylor to choke on a mouthful of beer. She spluttered and turned to see what had the men wound up. She grinned when she saw a weary Roach stumble into the room, smiling weakly and lazily returning the greetings. Royce beckoned him over, he collapsed into a chair and let his head drop onto the table out of exhaustion.

''I think you need a drink'' Royce chuckled, ''You too Hazard?''

''One more wont hurt, cheers mate'' She smiled and turned to Roach ''So'' She said loudly, making the younger man flinch ''How'd it go?'' Roach sighed and sat up.

''I nearly died'' He slurred. ''We were climbing a mountain, and we had to jump across. And I missed, Captain saved my arse'' Taylor was silent for a moment.

''Well, apart from that little setback'' She paused to thank Royce when he returned with their drinks. Roach accepted his with a grateful whimper. She waited for him to take a few gulps before continuing ''Did you find anything useful?''

''We'll find out soon enough'' he sighed.

''Was it easy to get a hold of?'' Royce asked

''We were compromised, but we stole some snowmobiles and we outrun them pretty fast'' Roach frowned ''Now that I think about it they didn't really make much of an effort to stop us once we reached the chopper''

''Seriously?'' Royce cocked an eyebrow ''You sure?'' Roach nodded.

''If the intel was worth something they would of thrown everything they had at you to make sure you didn't leave with it'' Taylor said.

''I don't know'' Roach groaned ''I could not get any bloody sleep on that damn chopper, i'm exhausted and my feet hurt''

''Maybe you should go to bed'' Taylor said gently. Roach nodded, drained his beer and slowly stood, looking over at Taylor before leaving.

''The Captains in his office by the way, in case you wanna say hi''

''Thanks Roach'' The younger man threw her a cheeky smirk over his shoulder.

''I know how much you must of missed him...''

''Go to bed Roach''

* * *

><p>Taylor stayed in the rec room for a good hour or two, knowing that Soap would be caught up in a briefing with Shepherd. After most of the men decided to call it a night she began to feel drowsy herself. Saying a quick goodnight to the remaining men she made her way to Soaps office. Again, knocking without waiting and quietly entering. She chuckled at the sight of a weary Soap, throwing back shots of single malt from the bottle he kept in his draw. He looked up and nodded.<p>

''Good to see you Hazard'' He said with a weak smile.

''Welcome back sir'' She grinned and sat in the available chair in front of his desk.

''What can I do for you?'' He asked out of habit.

''I want to know how it went'' She said leaning forward. He cocked an eyebrow.

''That's not all you have to say, surely'' He smirked,

''What?'' She asked.

''Well'' He sighed ''I have been gone for a whole five days'' It took her a few seconds to catch on.

''Aw, you're just gonna make me come out and say it aren't you?'' She grumbled.

''Go on''

''Fine'' She laughed ''I missed you. Know tell me how it went'' He offered her a shot of whiskey. She shook her head and leaned back in her chair. Happy that her friend had ditched the Captain bravado for a moment, it was much easier to joke around with him when he was his casual self.

''Not to bad'' He sighed ''It went South, I was compromised, I ended up starting down a dozen barrels. But our escape was pretty easy, they didn't seem to make much effort to shoot us down'' Taylor frowned, remembering Roach sort of saying the same thing.

''So in other words'' She said slowly ''It was a little easier than it probably should of been?''

''Pretty much'' He shrugged.

''Did the ACS have anything useful?'' She asked through a yawn.

''We still need to wait for that'' He said with a yawn of his own ''But I bloody hope so''

''Right'' She stood and idly smoothed her t-shirt ''Now that i'm all caught up. I'm going to let you get some sleep'' she turned and headed for the door, stopping as she remembered something. She turned her head, that impish grin of hers plastered across her face. ''You missed me too right?''

''Hazard...'' He rolled his eyes, but a smile tugged at his lips.

''Right?'' She nodded slowly, the crooked grin never leaving her features.

''Come on...'' He chuckled

''Oh just say it''

''Fine'' He said with mock annoyance ''I missed you too'' She turned back to the door.

''Good''

* * *

><p>Allen, or 'Alexei' as he was now known. Resisted the urge to blanch at the carnage of dead civilians sprawled around him. His Kevlar vest seemed to tighten around his chest he fought to calm himself and keep moving. M240 shaking in his hands he forced himself to keep a stoic expression as he emptied more rounds into more innocent bodies. He knew the others were watching him, he couldn't blow his cover now. He'd been chosen for this for a reason, he told himself from the beginning that he would do whatever it took to destroy Makarov. Shepherd said all along that this would cost him a piece of himself. But his conscience didn't lay dormant for long.<p>

_**Don't try and justify this murderer. **_

''Let's go!'' Makarov. Alexei glanced at the madman as he reloaded. Alexei felt nothing but hate as he locked onto his empty mis-matched eyes. In a brief moment of weakness he thought about emptying the entire clip into the psychopaths head. The others can be easily wiped out too, it would be so easy. He could end this himself.

His train of thought was broken as he spotted numerous armored vehicles, along with helicopters and a few dozen F.S.B troops. Alexei grit his teeth as he watched Makarov give a sadistic smirk. A rare sight for such an evil man.

''They're right on time. Check your weapons and ammo'' The Russian ordered.

''I've waited a long time for this'' Victor said. Alexei swallowed and refused to look anywhere but ahead. His grip tightened around his weapon as Makarov chuckled.

''Haven't we all'' He looked each one of them in the eye before nodding and moving to engage the troops. ''For Zakhaev''

Alexei's gaze drifted from the Ultranationalists to his weapon in his blood-splattered hands, and to the dead men and women scattered around him.

_**It would be so easy Joseph...**_

Pushing his conscience away, he followed the others through a gate and outside. He ducked behind a pillar as they began to engage the F.S.B. He switched to his M203 and aimed for their riot shields. Taking out most of the from row and leaving the rest exposed to gunfire, but the others quickly caught onto the tactic and began to take evasive maneuvers. Alexei paused to reload, and spit out a mouthful of bile while the men weren't looking.

They pushed forward, each step more taxing than the last. He cursed as a bullet skimmed his shoulder, looking up. He saw more troops firing from the second floor. Rolling on his side to change position before carefully eliminating the troops. When he was sure the second floor was clear he moved forward again. A guttural cry of pain to his left made him flinch. Lev had taken a chest-full of lead, Alexei watched him writhe and go still with little sympathy.

''Man down!'' Anatoly yelled.

''He's dead. Leave him!'' Makarov spat back. Alexei obliged and pressed on. Using re-loading his weapon as an excuse to lean against a stone pillar before his knees gave out. Eventually, the made it to the final gate service are where their getaway vehicle was parked. Victor reached up and yanked the ambulance's back doors open before climbing in, hauling Anatoly in. Who in turn helped Makarov. Alexei released the breath he didn't realize he was holding, relieved that the horrific, evil ordeal was over.

Every muscle in his body tensed as he reached up and grabbed Makarov's hand for assistance. He heard Anatoly in the background.

''We sent a strong message with this attack, Makarov'' Alexei frowned at the malicious smile the terrorist holding his arm gave.

''That was no message''

Alexei's frame violently twitched as a white hot pain shot through his stomach. He crumpled to the floor with a groan, the shock quickly waned and he looked up. The blood that hadn't spilled onto the tarmac ran cold in his veins as Makarov held his still smoking pistol at him.

''This is a message'' He paused to re-holster his weapon and turn to his stunned comrades ''The American thought he could deceive us. When they find that body... all of Russia will cry for war''

He disappeared behind the ambulance doors as the vehicle made it's escape. Allen sucked in a sharp breath, spluttering as thick clots of blood gathered in hi trachea. Staring numbly at the sky, tears stung his eyes.

_**You've been betrayed. Makarov knew about you the whole time.**_

The realization more agonizing than the hole in his stomach. From what was left of his senses, he picked up on men yelling in Russian along with heavy footsteps. The F.S.B men were approaching him. Helpless and circling the drain, the tears fell freely as he gave in, his vision slowly turning white as his conscience continued to berate him.

**_It's the beginning of the end Joseph. They'll find out who you are, and everything you've worked for will be worthless now. It's over._**

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><p><strong>Holy crap that last bit was horrible to write *shudder* I really hated this level, but it was important to the story. Here's hoping I pulled it off. I didn't expect to get this up so soon since iv'e already re-written it a million times and<strong> iv'e been up all night tweaking the living hell out of it<strong> :). **


	5. Something Big

_Taylor cleared the final section, threw herself out of the exit and skidded to a stop beside Wallcroft. She stumbled and braced the table, panting to get her breath back. She looked up as Wallcroft turned to give her time, a grin plastered across his face. _

_''23 seconds'' The Englishman said ''Your best time yet''_

_''Oh thank god'' she laughed, pushing her fringe back from her sweaty forehead, carefully discarding her weapon on the table and removing her thick jacket. Shivering as the damp air brushed over her clammy skin. It was her fourth time on the course and she was determined to at least get close to Gaz's nineteen seconds. _

_It was her first real day as part of the SAS. And it was down to the rest of the team to run her and the other new guy through the initial tests and courses. Lucky for her, Wallcroft and Griffen the laid back, considerate snipers took her under their wings when she returned from weapons training with Gaz. Their welcoming attitude didn't ease her discomfort completely, but it was nice to know not everyone on Credenhill had made it their personal mission to make her first few days a living hell. _

_''Yeah'' Griffen said, jumping up on the table beside her. ''It's a good improvement, fourth time's lucky eh?'' he laughed._

_''Well'' She sighed ''At least my first day seems to finally be of to a pretty good start'' her voice drifted as she noticed the other F.N.G pull the hangar door open and approach the course. She wasn't all that familiar with him yet, she heard his name was 'Soap'. He was quiet, and he didn't look like the friendly type. Taylor had spent her life in the military judging other people by appearance, a habit she'd picked up in basic. To her, it let her know who to avoid and who to keep on your good side. She wasn't to sure about the quiet Scott yet._

_''Well...it seems Miss Soap was kind enough to join us!'' A gravely geordie accent rang throughout the hangar. Taylor winced, she looked across the jungle of ropes, metal targets and wooden platforms until her eyes fell on a heavy built man, wearing full body armor including a green beanie. She remembered him from earlier, gruffly and none to kindly introducing himself as 'Mac'. He'd made it clear from the get-go that he resented her very being. ''Line up ladies! Go! This isn't a bloody charity walk - get your arses into gear! MOVE!''_

_She continued to watch with sympathy as the poor Scott was caught up in the unlucky group under Mac's guidance as they began to clear balance beam, duck under arches and crawl under the barbed wire. Suddenly feeling relieved that the much more friendlier Wallcroft and Griffen had insisted on timing her round on the course and walking her through the earlier initiation. _

_''I've seen Sandhurst Commandos run faster than you lot! Move move move! What's the matter with you? You all want to be R. T. U'd?'' Mac continued to berate the poor soldiers as some began to struggle. Taylor gulped._

_''Poor bastards'' she mumbled. The two men laughed._

_''Indeed'' Wallcroft chuckled ''No offense Bambi, but Mac would of destroyed you''_

_''That's why we wanted to keep an eye on you'' Griffen said. Taylor smiled and leaned forward on her knees._

_''You two are partners right?'' She asked, not sure if she remembered Gaz's introductions properly. _

_''We are'' Griffen nodded ''I'm his spotter'' She made an 'oh' noise in acknowledgement._

_''Did you ever consider sniping as a specialty Trafford?'' Wallcroft asked, she didn't realize it was a serious question until she caught his expression. _

_''Uh'' She stammered ''My old Lieutenant tried to show me once. But I could never lie still long enough'' She smiled weakly ''I need to keep moving in the field or I start losing my mind''_

_Before either men could respond, Mac's voice rang out again._

_''Oi, Soap! Captain Price wants to see you in Hanger One! You passed my little test, now get out of my sight!'' They listened as a pair of footsteps broke away from the group and jogged towards them. ''The rest of you bloody ponces are going to run it again until I'm no longer embarrassed to look at you!''_

_The rest of the group fell over themselves to get back to the start of the course. Taylor began to idly swing her legs back and forth in a steady rhythm. Watching from the corner of her eye as what she assumed to be the rest of the regiment (save for Mac) gathering around the screen. No doubt they were sizing up the F.N.G's on their team. Among them, she spotted Gaz and Captain Price. She had to admire how informal the men were around their Captain, it created a more brotherly atmosphere in the team. She caught him glance at her after looking at the screen, she swallowed the lump in her throat and turned her full attention to a loose tacking thread on her t-shirt._

_''It's the F.N.G. sir'' A cockney accent silenced the chatter of the group ''Well, the other F.N.G. Go easy on him sir. It's their first day in the regiment.''_

_''Right. What the hell kind of name is Soap, eh?'' The old Captain mocked, Taylor cringed. Admiring Soap for not squirming the way she would have. ''How'd a muppet like you pass selection?'' a few men chuckled and Gaz rolled his eyes, 'ouch' she thought, pulling harder in the loose cotton ''Soap, it's your turn for the C.Q.B. test. Everyone else head to observation'' there was a pause while a handful of soldiers shuffled closer towards the monitors. Taylor stayed where she was, she had a pretty good view from her spot on the table. ''For this test you'll have to run the cargoship solo in less than 60 seconds. Gaz holds the squadron record at 19 seconds. Good luck. Climb the ladder over there.''_

_She watched with detached interest as Soap almost effortlessly breezed past the obstacles. Cooking his flashbangs to near crispy and swiftly switching to his pistol when his M4A1 ran out of ammo. Taylor mentally rolled her eyes at herself. 'Why the hell didn't I think of that?'. After a brief struggle towards the end. He cleared the final section and emerged from the exit. Price examined the monitors, cocking what seemed to be an amused eyebrow. _

_''23 seconds'' Taylor's eyebrows shot up. She saw Gaz smirk ''You and Trafford have a tie score. You'll do, you'll both do. Climb up the ladder if either of you want an other go. Otherwise come over to the monitors for debrief''_

_Soap sauntered over and casually stood by Taylor, she resisted the urge to smirk. He leaned down to her ear._

_''The second we get back'' He whispered ''I'm wiping you of that score board'' Taylor snorted quietly. Rolling her shoulders before fixing him with an amused stare. Any assumptions she had about him were mixed as she took in the cocky smile on his face._

_''Bring it''_

An unknown force tore her from the memory. She sat up out of instinct, groaning loudly as a sharp ache shot through her neck and shoulders. Her legs were awkwardly tucked up underneath her, probably to try and preserve some heat in her stiff body. Hey eyes fell on the small glass of water that sat on the coffee table before her, the liquid was stale as she swallowed gulps of it. She looked around the dark rec room and sighed, the dream was beginning to break up in her memory. But she still had all to common fleeting thought where she wished she could go back to being the young, semi-ignorant F.N.G she was five years ago. When everyone had to keep an eye on her and she was far less likely to make a mistake or get herself killed. Along with the strong feeling of acceptance and camaraderie, probably the one thing the 141 lacked.

Even after five years she couldn't help the sadness and loss that came over her, the dream was just another reminder of just how much Imran Zakhaev took away from her that day.

The cold room steadily became lighter, she leaned her head back against the rough sofa. Wondering why she had a better nights rest on the fifty year old couch than her warm bed and fluffy grey blanket her sisters sent her.

''You're up early'' The groggy, Scottish brogue made her jump. She whipped her head round , giving Soap a small smile while her brain stammered for an excuse rather then telling him that she fell asleep while retrieving a glass of water.

''Ah, sure'' she mumbled, quickly getting to her feet and squeezing past Soap to dump the water into the sink. She caught him frowning.

''You alright?'' He asked ''You look a little flushed''

''Me?'' She asked a little to innocently ''I'm fine sir''

''Really?''

''Really''

He didn't bother to question her further, he knew just how stubborn a bitch she could be. And he had been aware of how bad bad her sleeping patterns were since he'd met her. So he'd decided to leave it until it became a real problem and began affecting her performance in the field. He watched as she yawned and rubbed her eyes with her knuckles, the same way a child does when her mother drags her out of bed at seven in the morning for school.

''You didn't pass out down here did you?'' Soap pushed, eyeing the pair of boots she discarded by the sofa she winced and leaned against the counter. Using every muscle in her face to keep her expression neutral.

''No sir'' She shrugged ''I just didn't feel like sleeping in'' she added, averting her guilty eyes. Soap frowned, he knew her better than that.

''Taylor...'' He sighed. She winced, he hardly ever called her by her first name any more. She knew she was either in for a bollocking or a soul crushing heart to heart. Neither of which she was in the mood for.

''Come on'' He rolled his eyes ''Somethings clearly got you upset, whats up?''

''Hey!'' She said without thinking ''You're not my dad, leave it'' She couldn't stop a small smirk touching her lips at her knee jerk reaction.

''That's what I thought'' He chuckled ''Now, could you pretend that you not such a defensive old cow for a moment and tell me whats wrong?'' Soap knew that gentle, compassionate persuasion never worked on her. She glared at him.

''I'm gonna go ahead and ignore the fact that you just called me old'' she deadpanned. ''But still, just leave it. Please'' Soap sighed, seemingly out of exasperation. He didn't consider himself an autocratic leader. Ever since he'd been given the rank of Captain he'd become almost protective over the men serving under him and he always made an extra effort to build a strong camaraderie with his soldiers, he sat with them at meals and even joined in with the banter in the rec room. He liked to think that they would turn to him if they ever had a problem. And even after everything the two of them had been through, Taylor's willingness to shut him out completely drove him nuts. Taylor caught his expression and placed a hand on his shoulder.

''Look sir'' She breathed ''I'll become less defensive and annoying eventually, just bear with it. Then you can have all the heart to hearts you want sir''

He could tell it was the best she had to offer, he gave a small smile and jokingly punched her in the arm.

''Come on'' He turned and started for the door ''I'm starving, and we either get to the canteen before Meat does or we starve''

* * *

><p>''Iv'e been meaning to ask'' Taylor said over her mug of coffee. Roach, who sat opposite her look up in question ''Was that intel you and the Captain picked up worth anything in the end?'' Roach sighed and rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head.<p>

''The General said he Russian had beaten us to it'' He sighed again ''They cracked it first, so it was worthless. In a nutshell''

''Shit'' Taylor mumbled ''Sorry mate, I know how much you went through to get that''

''Yeah, well'' Roach laughed ''Shepherd's had us on these useless ops for the better part of a year now, i'm not surprised that this one turned out no different''

''Well aren't you just mister glass half empty'' She deadpanned. ''That's no way to go through life you know''

''Shut up''

''Remember who you're talking to _Sergeant_'' It sounded like a threat, but the playful smile on her face meant that it was in good humor.

''Oh, I am sorry _ Lieutenant_'' Roach replied with equal sarcasm. They both laughed. Taylor glanced around the rec room. Soap had disappeared shortly after breakfast, Ghost was no where in sight either. But the man was so quiet Taylor could never notice him slipping out of the room.

''Can I safely assume that the Captain and Ghost are being held against their will in a meeting with the good General?'' Roach shrugged.

''Most likely. Could be another pointless mission'' He smirked and she rolled her eyes.

''Really? You're killing me with your negativity here'' Roach was about to respond when Soap and Ghost appeared in the open doorway. Soap silenced the men and called for a meeting in the briefing room, there was a lot of grumbling as they filed out of the room. Taylor looked at Roach. ''I think you were right'' She said as she stood and absently dusted herself off ''MacTavish doesn't look to happy anyway''

Ten minutes later, after everyone had gathered around the table in the dark, stuffy room Soap lit a cigar and began to explain. First, he asked everyone to turn their attention to the screen on the wall. The room went silent as the team examined the images that flashed across the white fabric.

Shots of the Zakhaev International Airport, along with the hundreds of bullet-mauled, bloody, _innocent_ bodies. Taylor swallowed dryly as she gazed at the horrific images. She could feel Archer tense beside her, she didn't dare try and make eye contact with any of her stunned comrades.

''This is the result of a terrorist attack organised by none other than Vladimir Makarov'' Soap said, breaking the silence. The screen then zoomed in on a mans body. Taylor had to squint from her spot at the back, but she could tell he was wearing a sharp-looking suit, but the thing that set him apart from the other dead civilians was the AK 47 loosely clutched in his right hand. The name 'Joseph Allen' appeared.

''And that is PFC Joseph Allen'' Ghost continued.

''Right'' Soap butted back in ''He was a US Army Ranger brought in by General Shepherd as a new recruit for the 141. He was sent on a secret mission to infiltrate Makarov's inner circle, he took part in the attacks and survived the FSB troupes'' He paused and rubbed his temples ''But Makarov knew the whole time, he was killed just before the Ultranationalists escaped''

A feeling of dread crawled up Taylor's spine when she realized what that meant. She could tell that the other's had figured it out to, but no one wanted to speak up.

''So, now Russia is under the impression that it was an American attack'' Taylor surprised everyone, and herself by breaking the silence. Taylor tried to keep her face stoic, but she could feel it wasn't at all convincing. Soap nodded.

''Exactly'' The Scott sighed.

''Hang on'' Royce was next, the American sat up and looked at the Captain ''If he was already part of the 141, why were we not in on the whole thing?''

''I'm afraid Shepherd kept quiet about that one Royce'' Soap answered, Taylor rolled her eyes. No surprises there.

''The Russian's aren't gonna let this go unanswered'' Ghost chimed in ''It's gonna get bloody'' More tense silence followed. Taylor kept her eyes on the floor, no one spoke for a few more minutes. Soap gave the time to let the information sink in.

''Shepherds given us another op'' Soap continued, the image of Allen's body vanished and was replaced by headshot's of two men she didn't recognize ''This is Alejandro Roajs'' He said, gesturing to the photo on the right ''The other man is his assistant. Rojas is an arms dealer who supplied Makarov and his assault, this man is our ticket to Makarov. Were going to Rio De Janero to apprehend him and find out what he knows. Everyone clear?''

Still stunned. The men gave weak acknowledgement's and began filing out again. Taylor walked out, as she made her way down the corridor she heard someone trying to catch up. She looked back and fell into step with Royce. Neither of the aid anything as they walked down the hallway.

''Can you believe it?'' Royce said quietly, Taylor sighed.

''I know, those poor people'' She shook her head. ''Just when this line of work couldn't shock me any more this happens''

''True, it's the start of something big that's for sure'' Royce sighed ''I actually cannot wait to get my hands on that arms dealer'' Royce said. Taylor scoffed.

''You, me, and the rest of the team'' She said with a small smile. ''And I guess Iv'e always wanted to visit Brazil''

* * *

><p><strong>Phew, I guess it's been a while. But here's chapter 5 :) sadly, this might be the only one I can upload for now since i'll be disappearing again for a while (hectic life is hectic) But if you're still reading this throwback. Then I must thank you :D please don't forget to R+R :) xx<strong>


	6. Keep Moving

**Hey there!**

**Sooo, it's been one or two months since I last updated *cough*. And there's no denying that I almost lost my spark for this, if i'm honest with you. I was frustrated by lack of feedback, but then I remembered how much I loved writing about Taylor and I realized how petty my reason to nearly give up was. So I sincerely apologize for that. But you can thank a friend I have for this chapter, we were just casually chatting about nothing and everything when she suddenly said "Hey, remember that Call of Duty story you vowed to finish by Christmas?"**

**And then I was like "...Shit"**

**So I hauled some serious ass and typed this up in record time. But it's probably, well IS my fault for starting a new Pokemon story which I now realize was a very bad idea. Anyhoo, here's the sixth chapter for 5 Years Later. Enjoy :)**

**I do not own COD or anything to do with it, just my OC Taylor :)**

* * *

><p>Stifling a yawn and trying not to complain until she was blue in the face, Taylor waited almost patiently with Ghost in a cramped alleyway. Her ACR was neatly propped up against the crumbling brick wall by her leg while she tugged at the black material of her shirt, watching it stick back to her clammy skin. <strong><em>Why, why a black t-shirt?<em> **She thought to herself. The heat had fried her brain to the point where she couldn't actually remember what she, Worm and Ghost were even doing in the sweltering alley. She was beginning to get drowsy, until the crackle of their ear-pieces brought her back to the real world again.

"Ghost, the plates are a match" the Captains voice rung through the group. Hazard smirked and grabbed her weapon in preparation, she shared a smile of relief with Worm. The US Navy SEAL hadn't been with the 141 for very long, he was on loan along with a few others. But he was a good guy as far as Hazard could tell, they often ended up on the same teams in training and he shared his cigarettes with her. Which she thought was good enough bonding time.

"Copy. Any sign of Rojas' right hand man?" Ghost replied, professional as ever.

"Negative. They've stopped twice already. No sign of him" The Captain sighed. Hazard groaned quietly, after a few beats of silence their radios crackled again.

"Wait, they've stopped again. Standby" The Captain informed, the three soldiers tensed in anticipation. "Got a positive ID! Whoever these guys are, they're not happy to see him..." The three cringed when they heard what sounded like gunfire on the other end.

"Sounds like that escalated quickly..." Hazard dryly commented to herself, switching the safety of on her weapon.

"Ghost, we have a situation here! The Captain called urgently, Hazard and Worm would of bolted straight from the alley if Ghost wasn't in the way. "Get down! Get down!" The Captain yelled, more gunfire and the shattering of glass was heard. More yelling along with a long drawn out car horn, Hazard shuddered. "Ghost, our driver's dead! We're on foot! Meet us at the Hotel Rio and cut him off if you can!" MacTavish ordered.

"Roger, I'm on my way" With a swift gesture of his head, Ghost lead the way out of the alley and onto the busy street. Hazard cursed as she had to shoulder and elbow civilians out of her way, normally she was fast runner when she needed to be. But dodging the terrified horde was slowing her down and causing intense frustration especially since she could actually see Rojas' right hand man bolting towards one of the hundreds of alleys in the favela.

"He went into the alley!" Ghost yelled, the three had now met up with Roach and MacTavish. Hazard had been considering asking permission to split of with Worm and try to cut the right hand man off from a different alleyway. But the layout of the area was so intricate and complicated she doubted that she'd be able to find her way out again.

"Non-lethal takedowns only! We need him alive!" The Captain called above the noise of screaming civilians. They all gave breathless acknowledgements and resumed the chase, their pursuit crought them to the mouth of a shadowed and narrow alleyway where the target had just entered.

"Roach- take the shot! Go for his leg!" MacTavish ordered, Hazard stood back to give the younger soldier some space Roach leveled his weapon and fired three shots, two bullets struck the target in the right calf and knee while the third hit the wall. "He's down" MacTavish confirmed, Hazard smirked.

"Niiice" Worm complimented with a short chuckle. MacTavish and Ghost wasted no time in hauling the wounded target to his wrecked legs and dragged him to a conveniently placed garage round the back of a building. Rojas' right hand man screamed and struggled in vain against the men's hold as he was restrained and ties to a metal chair. Ghost toyed with a car battery while the Captain gave the remaining soldiers their orders

"Roach, this is going to take some time. Go with Meat and Royce and head south check the favela for any sign of Rojas. Worm and Hazard, you go north and search there that's where this guy was headed" he was answered by a chorus of 'yes sirs' and 'rogers' before he dragged the garage door down to begin his interrogation.

"Good luck you guys" Royce called to Hazard as they began to split up.

"Same to you lot, be careful" She replied in kind as she and Worm jogged in the other direction.

"So, what's the plan?" Worm asked as the two wound their way through the maze of alleys and gutters to the center of the favela. Hazard smirked again, since Worm was a Sergeant and she was a Second Lieutenant it meant the she was the leader of their little team, even if was be default which she was perfectly fine with.

"Well..." Hazard sighed as she scanned the rooftops for possible snipers "Since we're in a pretty unpredictable situation I can't say for sure what we're going to do, but Archer and Toad are going to re-group with us somewhere along the line so we just have to fight our way through and keep searching until we find this guy"

"Sounds good to me" Worm said while he checked adjoining alleyways.

"Also..." Hazard began "There are a lot of scared civilians around here so watch where you're shooting. I should also mention these militia boys are pretty viscous, and they know this area better than we ever will so watch your back"

" Bravo Six, be advised - we've engaged enemy militia at the lower village" Royce's voice called through their radios. The two became silent as they continued to search, from what Hazard could gather. Meat, Royce and Roach had already made their presence known and most of the militia had swarmed to take the three out. Leaving mostly guards and snipers behind for them.

They vaulted over a short wall and immediately took cover behind a totaled truck as a hail of bullets rained down on them from the rooftops.

"Ah, I thought the quiet was to good to last" Hazard quipped as they returned fire. The militia were firing at them from the numerous levels of the favela, making it incredibly difficult to lock on to one target. "If we don't move now we'll be pinned" Hazard yelled over the gunfire "Use the wrecked vehicles and walls for cover, try to avoid any oil drums and stay close!" Worm nodded once in acknowledgment, Hazard did a tuck and roll to move forward behind what used to be a washing machine. Now closer, the two were able to clear the rooftops long enough to leave the area and move deeper into the darker parts of the favela.

As Hazard predicted, they were met with a more brutal resistance in the cramped streets and markets. Using up nearly all of their grenades and flashbangs, they temporarily cleared the area and got moving again.

"I'm low on frags and flashbangs" Worm announced as they picked their way through the carnage.

"Check the bodies" Hazard said after a moments contemplation "If they're as well armed as I think then we can find everything we need on them" She was right, after the two had re-stocked and re-loaded their radio's crackled.

"Royce, gimme a sitrep, over!" The Captain ordered.

"Lots of militia but no sign of Rojas over here, over!" Royce's reply came.

"Hazard?" The Captain asked.

"Same over here sir, plenty of resistance but no Rojas. Over" She sighed, not taking her eyes from the rooftops as she walked.

"Copy that! Keep searching! Let me know if you see him! Out"

They were met with more militia as they entered a small market. Ducking behind a wonky cart, Hazard returned fire on the ground while Worm aimed for the numerous snipers. After a brief firefight the market was silent, they were cautious as they slowly emerged from cover to scan the area properly.

A single gunshot followed by a cry of pain caused the two to freeze, Hazard's shock only increased as the body of a militia sniper landed with a heavy thud not two feet from her left. Surprise turned to confusion until she glanced right and saw Archer, sniper rifle in hand with a self satisfied smile. Hazard released the breath she was holding.

"Bollocks, that was close" She let out a shaky laugh "Didn't even see him, thanks mate. Guess I really owe you one" She said as she briefly clasped hands with Archer, then Toad who wasn't to far behind. Even Worm was relieved as he nodded to them in greeting.

"I'll remember you said that" Archer replied with a wink, the others could only chuckle as they were on the move again.

"Did you see anything while on sniper duty?" Hazard asked after they cleared another alleyway "You were silent on the radio's" Archer shook his head.

"Nothing unfortunately, it wasn't long before they found us anyway. What about you?" It was Hazards turn to shake her head, before she could update him on Royce's team they were attacked near a barren playground.

"Meat is down! I repeat, Meat is down!" Royce's frantic voice yelled, Hazards' eyes widened behind her shades. But the four were still to occupied in the intense firefight to react at t he moment. When the last militia soldier fell Hazard exchanged a stunned glance with Archer and Toad.

"Shit..." Toad gasped "Poor Meat" Hazard nodded, she didn't know Meat all that well, but the pit in her stomach grew at the thought of Roach and Royce meeting the same fate. it must be pretty bad were they were now...

"We have to keep moving" Archer said, the others nodded. Unless they wanted to end up like Meat they needed to get to higher ground and find Rojas. The four broke out into a run as they were fired at again, Hazard's only available cover was a doorstep. Pressing her back firmly against the splintered door she managed to kill two snipers and miss about three.

"I'm so bad at this close quarters thing..." she moaned to herself while following Archer. By now, she was covered in scrapes and bruises and bleeding lightly from three different places on her arm. They were now pretty far to the east of the favela and most of the mlitia were either heading west towards Roach and Royce or retreating and re-grouping. They heard nothing more from either Roach nor Royce until they were engaged by a large group of militia, Hazard ducked behind a rust car and focused on the grounded soldiers while Archer and Toad took care of the snipers and RPG's on the rooftops. Hazard barely heard her radio over the noise.

"Royce is down, I repeat. Royce is down!" Roach's voice was low and solemn. Hazard froze mid-reload.

"Shit, no. No no no no no" She whispered to herself. That couldn't be right, could it? Royce, dead. Royce can't be dead, he's survived much worse. He _always_ survives. But she had no time to dwell on it as Archer yelled for more cover, she fired at the enemy with a little more vengeance and vigor. Thankful that she chose to wear sunglasses for this one.

"Hazard, did you re-group with Archer and Toad?" The Captains voice rang out in her ear, she swallowed hard.

"Yes sir" She replied with a firmness that surprised her.

"We've got Rojas' location!" "He's heading west along the upper levels of the favela"

"That's where Roach is" Hazard breathed, only now aware of the three pairs of eyes now fixed on her "We're to far east to help him now, we can start making our way over there but I doubt it will be in time to provide backup. Over"

"Right" MacTavish replied, before directing his words back to Roach "We'll keep him from doubling back on our side, keep going and cut him off at the top! There's no time for backup. You're gonna have to do this on your own. Good luck. Out"

Hazard shook her head, now Roach was on his own at least half of the militia on his ass.

"Looks like we're heading west then" Archer said, his voice unusually even. Hazard nodded, knowing that the only thing for them to do now is keep moving and stay alive. Emotion will catch up later, but for now they had to find Rojas and get out. But one of the hardest things for Hazard was knowing that you had to keep going and surviving while one of your dearest friends won't be leaving the hellhole with you.

Without another word, the team began heading west. Militia resistance was becoming weaker and weaker as they moved further towards Roach. They all kept their radios on, but the only voices were that of the Captain and Ghost as they kept everyone updated on Rojas's location. Roach was still giving chase through the favela, but Hazard and the others were still to far out to help.

"Roach, watch the rooftops! We've had a few close calls with RPGs and machine guns positioned up high! Roach, we're taking heavy fire from militia here but I'm still tracking Rojas! He's gone into a building! Ghost, you see him?" MacTavish yelled.

"Roger that, he's climbing onto a roof carrying a black duffel bag!" Ghost's reply came.

"Well that ought to slow him down! Roach, we're keeping him from doubling back! Keep moving to intercept!" The Captain called. the four were moving further and further west, the militia seemed so desperate to stop Roach that Hazard and the others were met with barely any soldiers. But they still saw no sigh of Rojas.

"I've got a got a visual on Rojas! He's cutting through the market!" Ghost bellowed in their ears.

"Roger that! I'll head for the rooftops and try to cut him off on the right! He's gonna have no choice but to head west!" The Captain replied.

"I can't believe we're missing all of this!" Toad yelled in frustration as they fired on attacking militia.

"What's done is done mate, for now we have to get to Roach and the others!" Archer yelled back, not removing his eyes from the rooftops. "Shit, I see him!" He pointed to the rooftops ahead, and sure enough. A bulky figure hauling a duffel bag across the rooftops.

"Be advised, I'm about half a click east of the market, I can see Rojas running across the rooftops on my right side!" Ghost said.

"We see him to, heading you way sir" Archer replied, the four moved forwards. After engaging more militia on the rooftops they met up with Ghost and resumed the chase.

"Roger that!" The Captain said "Roach! i'm still corralling him closer to your side of the hill! Keep an eye open for Rojas! He's making his way across the rooftops!" the team of five leaped behind cover as they engaged more enemy troops.

"Sir, I've got Rojas in my sights! We can go for a clean leg shot! We can end it here!" Ghost called. Hazard turned her gaze towards the rooftop and saw that Rojas was indeed right in Ghost's cross-hairs.

"Negative! We can't risk it! Do not engage! MacTavish's firm reply came.

"Bollocks! Roger that!" Ghost turned to the others "I'm gonna head this way and try and cut him off closer to Roach!" He yelled before disappearing down an alleyway. All Hazard could do was roll her eyes and keep moving forwards, not letting Rojas leave her sights.

"Roach! I've spotted Rojas, he's making a run for it! He's headed your way. And don't shoot him! We need him alive and unharmed! Roach, we're going to cut him off at the summit, keep pushing him that way!" MacTavish yelled over the radio.

"At least Roach seems to be doing well enough..." Worm remarked whilst re-loading. Despite herself, Hazard snorted and kept him covered until he could shoot again.

"Don't hold your breath" She replied once it was her turn to reload "He may be durable, but he's the unluckiest man you'll ever meet" once they were clear, they began to move forward again, pursuing Rojas and getting closer to Roach. Speaking of, the actually spotted him leaping across the rooftops not to far behind Rojas. But they decided not to alert him of their presence should he get distracted. It wasn't long before both Roach and Rojas disappeared from their sight after sliding down some tin rooftops.

"Shit, we're to low down to see anything now!" Toad yelled in annoyance.

"Ghost he's going for that motorcycle! We've got eyes on Rojas, wait! Shite! he's headed back towards you!" The Captain said. Hazard blinked in confusion.

"What?" Archer asked in frustration.

"Damn, we're really missing a lot over here..." Worm deadpanned as they began heading towards the rooftops themselves.

"Just keep moving!" Hazard tried to encourage, but her own heavy breathing gave away her growing exhaustion.

"Nice! He's breaking to the right again! Roach, if you see him, do not shoot him! I need him unharmed! Roach, keep pushing him uphill! Don't let him double back! Roach! He's on the move and headed your way! Go! Go!" MacTavish continued to yell at an already flustered Roach as the others kept up the pursuit. So absorbed in the moment, Hazard couldn't help but smirk as she spotted Rojas leaping across the rooftops.

"Ha! Got him back in my sights, he's sliding down the tin roofs!" Hazard yelled over the radio.

"I've got another clear leg shot!" Ghost called.

"Negative!" The Captain replied in clear exasperation "Not unless you wanna carry him back out with all this militia breathing down your neck! I need him unharmed!" the four continued to pursue Rojas, until they came to a small cluster of houses and apartments. Rojas was gone from her sight in the blink of an eye.

"Shit, lost him..." Archer grumbled.

"Ghost, I'm going far right!" MacTavish called as Roach entered the summit and stood opposite the others, they exchanged disappointed glances.

"Roger that! He's gonna get away!" Ghost said unhelpfully out of frustration.

"No he's not" Came the satisfied reply.

Just as Ghost reached the summit, the crash of shattering glass was heard above them. They recoiled in surprise as MacTavish actually broke through the top window of the tallest apartment and tackled Rojas onto a green ford (which was actually in pretty good condition) every window on the vehicle shattered and sprayed shards of glass everywhere. When it was safe to look, a sigh of relief swept through the group as the Captain held their target at gunpoint.

"Frontrunner, this is Bravo Six. We've got the package. I repeat we have got the package" MacTavish smirked.

"Command, ready for dustoff. Send the chopper. Coordinates to foll..." Ghost paused "Bollocks! The skies are clear! Send the chopper now." He sighed "Command's got their head up their arse. We're on our own."

"Oh great" Archer deadpanned "Now What?"

* * *

><p><strong>If you're STILL reading this, then I love you :) and thank you. I do promise that I will try and get this finished by Christmas, if not then no later than January. <strong>

**Have a good one ;) **


	7. What it's worth

Hazard sat against a stack of old crates next to Archer as Ghost and the Captain interrogated Rojas, she didn't bother watching. No matter who the target was or how evil they may be, torture was one of the few things that actually made her squeamish. Closing her eyes and blotting out the noise Hazard tried to reign her emotions back in so that she could keep it together long enough until they escaped the sweltering hell hole, then she could lose more sleep with her terrible coping methods.

With the combination of the heat and the chain of cigarettes she'd been smoking Hazard and completely lost track of time, it wasn't until the agonized screams and unintelligible words of Rojas had dwindled to a small whimper did she know it was over. Opening her eyes and stiffly standing, wincing as the rough fabric of her jeans rubbed against the grazes on her knees. She replaced her sunglasses and turned to the Captain as he tried calling for help on his radio, after a few beats he heard the dreaded message.

"We're sorry. All lines are busy at the moment. Please hang up and try to call again later" The ever patronizing voice of the ore-recorded female droned, Ghost tried on his own device and sighed in frustration after a few minutes.

" I can't get anyone on the horn" The lieutenant snapped. Hazard swallowed thickly before turning to Worm who had his laptop out. He was busy tapping away on the small keyboard, downloading what appeared to be some sort of satellite feed. Curious, Hazard subtly leaned over his shoulder to get a better look. Her eyes bulged as she glimpsed videos of what appeared to be urban town's and estates in America, the civilian ares were swarming with Humvee's, tanks and firefight's between soldiers. The videos continued to overlap one-another until audio clips from new's feeds could be heard.

"War has been brought to the shores of the United States" A male reporter stated. With this report came aerial shorts of submarines and aircraft carriers on the shores of Washington. The clip was minimized and replaced with another.

"Troops are already stretched to... scattered all over the world..." the next feed was a little fuzzier and harder to decipher due to the dwindling signal, the screen flickered as Worm continued typing. The screen went black and a new's roll appeared at the bottom.

"DOWNLOADING. U.S. DENIED PASSAGE THROUGH BRAZILIAN AIRSPACE - U.S. CONDEMNED FOR MOSCOW AIRPORT MASSACRE - CIA "BLOWBACK" TRIGGERS HARSH U.N. RESPONSE" Hazard gulped.

"Shit..." She mumbled to herself, only now realizing that the rest of the team. Including the two Co's had gathered around the crouched Navy SEAL. They were all silent for a moment. Hazard didn't dare look any of the men in the eyes, the reality of what was happening outside their Task Force had finally hit home.

"The Russians must've copied the ACS module..." MacTavish sighed, Hazard rubbed her eyes under her shades "Got the key to every lock in America" HAzard closed her eyes while she comprehended what was happening. The US was under complete lockdown and banned from Brazilian airspace, meaning that the 141 was trapped in a favela in Rio full of reinforced militia ready to pounce at any second, she reached into her pocket and clutched her mothers necklace. This wasn't looking good.

"And they're killing a thousand Americans for every dead civilian in Moscow" Ghost continued, his voice even "Look's like we're all out of friends" The Captain shook his head and briefly locked eyes with Hazard before speaking.

" I know a guy. Let's find a payphone. They still exist?" He looked at each soldier, Taylor cocked an eyebrow. Archer cleared his throat.

"I think we passed a few on the way here sir" he explained "They aren't that far from here..."

"Excellent" The scot said "Lets go"

Archer led the way to a payphone Hazard, Toad, Ghost and MacTavish followed while the others stayed behind to keep an eye on Rojas and hold any militia stragglers back. Their short trip was pretty much silent, each man wrapped up in his own thoughts. Hazard busied herself with scanning rooftops and wondering what secret weapon MacTavish had stashed in his arsenal this time. She had a pretty good idea, but she wasn't even sure if this guy was still alive.

Eventually, the reached a payphone, the windows had been smashed in and the frame was barely holding it's own weight. But by some stretch of a miracle the phone still worked, the Captain dialled. And the first words out of his mouth confirmed exactly what Hazard had thought.

"Nikolai? I need a favour..."

* * *

><p>The five had returned to where Rojas had been interrogated and were preparing to make their way through the market to her and the Captain's old friend Nikolai's plane. Before they set of, Ghost spoke up.<p>

"All we got outta Rojas is that the only guy Makarov hates worse than Americans is locked up in a gulag" He said, the team murmured in surprise. This being the first they heard about the information they'd extracted from the arms dealer. MacTavish did a final weapon check before turning to his second in command.

"It's all we got. If this con's the bait to catch that psychopath, let's hang him from a tree" He stated with a shrug, Hazard sighed but kept any opinions to herself. If that was enough information for the Captain then they should be fine, foreign shouts could be heard from all sides. Drawing the team's attention immediately, Hazard glimpsed a rather large group of angry militia plowing towards them.

"Sir, the militia's closing in. Almost 200 of them, front and back" Ghost reported.

"We're gonna have to fight our way to the LZ" MacTavish barked without missing a beat "Let's go!"

"What about Rojas sir?" Hazard asked before she could stop herself, her voice still calm. The Captain regarded her almost thoughtfully, before glancing between her and Rojas's broken body.

"The streets will take care of him" He answered bluntly.

"Works for me" Ghost replied while Hazard simply nodded once. The team then followed their captain up the short hill leading to the main road heading towards the market. The were ambushed instantly, but they could hear the Captains voice through their open radio link.

"Nikolai! We're at the top-level of the favela surrounded by militia! Bring the chopper to the market, do you copy, over!" MacTavish barked.

"Ok my friend, I am on the way!" Nikolai's reply came. Hazard couldn't help the slight surge of relief she felt, when was the last time she was thrilled at the sound of a Russian voice in such a desperate situation?, her brain kindly reminded her with memories of the Altay Mountains when Kamarov barely came to their rescue. She shook her head, the images disappearing as quickly as they appeared. Now was not a good time for nostalgia.

They fought their way through the heavily defended streets, narrowly avoiding snipers and dodging technical's and made it to a grassy yard. Hazard threw herself behind a rusting truck to reload, Roach was soon by her side. Taking care of more technical's while she scoped for more targets. She killed two or three soldiers before the area was quite, they pushed forward before they were pinned again. They reached a series of narrow roads and apartment buildings, Hazard kept her eyes forward.

"Let's go, let's go! We've gotta push through these streets to the market! Watch for flanking routes!" MacTavish yelled over the gunfire. Hazard immediately cursed herself and swiftly scanned the alleys, thank god there were no militia in waiting. She shook her head, annoyed at herself for forgetting something so basic and important. She could have gotten herself killed. They pushed back the resistance and made it to the wrecked market.

"Squad! Spread out and cut through the market! Move!" MacTavish barked.

Hazard stuck with Worm and Rocket. Diving behind a collapsed cart while scanning the numerous balcony's and canopy's. Making sure it was clear above she turned her attention to the ground troops, clearing the path ahead.

"Contacts above us at 11 o'clock, firing blind!" Ghost warned, as if to prove his point a bullet hit the corner of the cart right next to Hazard's left arm. Spraying splinters and rusty nails in her direction, she cursed foully and swung her weapon towards the snipers on the balcony's above. She managed to take out three before needing to reload, she yelled for cover from Worm while she replaced the clip. Once she was good to go she cleared a few shacks and announced the area was clear, for now anyway.

The familiar beat of rotors drew her eyes upwards, she smirked when she spotted a Pave Low. Good ol' Russian loyalists, always showing up just when they're needed.

"There's Nikolai's Pave Low! Let's go! Nikolai! ETA 20 seconds! Be ready for immediate dust off!" the Captain called, the 141 re-grouped and headed towards the houses.

"That may not be fast enough! I see more militia closing in on the market!" Nikolai replied, Hazard grit her teeth and kept running. She glanced towards the Pave Low, her eyes widened behind her sunglasses as she watched numerous RPG's close in on the chopper. As if he had read her thoughts, Nikolai's static yells came through the radio.

"It's too hot! We will not survive this landing!" He yelled,

"Nikolai wave off, wave off! We'll meet you at the secondary LZ instead! Go!" MacTavish commanded, not fazed at all. Hazard watched in slight remorse as the Pave Low reared away from them.

"Very well, I will meet you there! Good luck!" The chopper disappeared from their sight. The team engaged more militia on what used to be a soccer field.

"Come on! We've got to get to the rooftops, this way!" the Captain gestured for them to follow once they were clear. They headed for the houses, using the stairs, lack of windows and packed architectural style of the buildings to their advantage they made it to the rooftops. From there the resistance just got worse, but the sight of Nikolai's Pave Low at the very edge of the seemingly endless rooftops kept her going.

"My friend, from up here, it looks like the whole village is trying to kill you!" Nikolai cried, but the amusement was clear in his voice. Hazard rolled her eyes.

"Only you Nikolai..." She hissed, knowing he wouldn't hear her.

"Tell me something I don't know" MacTavish snapped "Just get ready to pick us up!"

"We're running out of rooftop..." Ghost called, Hazard look ahead. wincing when she saw that there was actually only about twenty meters of roof's left before a harsh drop.

"We can make it! Go go go!" MacTavish reassured. The team kept moving, Hazard began to instinctively slow her speed as they approached a decently sized jump.

"Don't stop Hazard!" Ghost barked "Go for it!" She watched as the masked lieutenant cleared the jump with ease, her legs weren't particularly strong at the moments after all the abuse they'd taken. But it was either jump or be at the mercy of the militia, she approached the edge. Slamming the sole of her right boot into the edge of the roof she used what was left of her muscle mass to propel herself forward as hard as she could.

She made it, barely. She slipped as she was about to land on the other side, her side slamming painfully into the scorching tine roof. Ghost grabbed the back of her Kevlar vest and hauled her to her feet. She was barely aware of the bullets barely missing her feet or the stinging burn on her right forearm, all that was on her mind now was escaping this hell hole. She was a few paces behind Ghost when she reached the chopper, Archer and Toad helped pull her in. She collapsed on her backside and scooted back against the cold metal wall of the Pave Low.

Before she could feel completely safe, however. Her expression twisted into one of horror as Soap boarded the chopper, without Roach.

"Where's Roach?" Ghost asked lowly, Soap clung to the side of the door and leaned out of the Pave Low.

"He missed the jump" Hazard paled "Roach! There's too many of them! Get the hell out of there and find a way to the rooftops! Move! Run for it! Get to the rooftops!" He yelled, causing her to jump. Before she could look for herself Ghost shoved past her and joined his Captain.

"Roach, we're circling the area but I can't see you! You've got to get to the rooftops!" MacTavish barked into his radio. Hazard hand found it's way to the necklace in her pocket again. She began praying to whatever deity was available that Roach's luck would turn just for once, she and Archer glanced over their CO's shoulders. She squinted, then released the breath she was holding when she spotted a man frantically darting across the rooftops without a weapon.

"Roach! I see you! Jump down to the rooftops and meet us south of your position! Go!" MacTavish ordered.

"Gas is very low! I must leave in thirty seconds!" Nikolai called from the cockpit, concern evident in his voice. Hazard and Archer exchanged a frantic glance, the Captain grabbed the rope ladder and swung it over the edge of the chopper.

"Roach! We're running on fumes here! You got thirty seconds! Run! Left! Turn left and jump down! Come on!" MacTvaish yelled again, Hazard could have sworn she heard a slight hint of panic in his voice. Her fingers wrapped around the gold chain in her pocket, her eyes never left Roach as he ran for dear life towards the Pave Low. She bit her gums and clenched her fists, silently begging him to hurry the hell up.

Finally, with ten seconds left Roach made it to the rope ladder.

"Jump for it!" MacTavish called. Hazard's breath hitched as Roach briefly soared through the air, she heaved a sigh of genuine relief as his gloved hand gripped the ladder and MacTavish and Ghost began to hoist him up.

The rest of the team stared at the Sergeant in amazement as he settled himself in between Hazard and Worm, his expression unfazed despite his near death experience.

"Shit man..." Toad breathed "You are one lucky bastard Sanderson!" Roach chuckled uneasily.

"Guess so..." He mumbled, there were a few beats of silence before Hazard nudged his shoulder.

"You're just terrible at those long distance jumps aren't you?" She sighed, removing her shades and revealing her almost condescending expression. She could tell from his face that he was remembering his other little near-death episode on his two-man mission with MacTavish a few days ago. Oddly enough, this seemed to comfort Roach more that Toad's comment.

"Thanks" He deadpanned "You always know just what to say" This drew a quick chuckle from each man in the chopper, but it didn't last. What they had lost today had finally caught up with them, and each soldier slipped into their own little world as they reflected on the two good men they lost for the tiny piece of information they gained about an anonymous prisoner that may not even exist . _'Was it worth it?' _Hazard lamented to herself before placing her shades back over her eyes and leaning her head back against the hollow metal. _'Losing a best friend for this?'._

_Not one fucking bit._

* * *

><p><strong>Ugh, I hate this chapter. It sucks -_-, sorry about that. But I'm stuck on bed rest with nothing to do so I thought I'd just get this one out of the way. <strong>


	8. Our Humanity

Taylor didn't even bother going to the rec room that night, once they'd touched down that night most of the men scattered to their respective rooms. Taylor hung back with Soap and talked with Nikolai for a half hour or so, she had to admit it was wonderful seeing her old friend again, before paying a visit to the infirmary to have her arm seen to. She didn't think the burn was that bad, but upon closer inspection on the flight back she'd noticed that she'd lost quite a bit of skin from the scorching metal. Seemingly on autopilot, she dumped her equipment and weapons in their respective places she trudged to the infirmary, lightly ramming the door with her shoulder she recoiled at the smell of bleach and blood, oh how she hated infirmary's. Shuddering, she stepped fully into the infirmary. Smirking slightly as she spotted the doctor she was looking for.

"Jen" She called quietly, noticing the sleeping patients not to far a way. The doctor in question turned and grinned at the source of the voice, she wore her usual blue scrubs and her dark hair was pulled back into a tight bun. Sergeant Jennifer Thorne had been a doctor on the base years before Taylor had even joined the 141, but since she needed medical care five times a week at the least the two had become good friends and were even on a first name basis, despite the fact that Jen could put the fear of god into every man on base with her strict ways she seemed to have an ever so slight soft spot for Taylor. Jen never suffered fools lightly and took her job more seriously than anyone, which was something Taylor admired.

"Hey ginge" The older woman smirked "What happened now?" Taylor held out her red, peeling arm.

"Tiny miscalculation of distance on my part" Taylor sighed "But I may have lost one or two layers of skin, so better safe than sorry" She smiled weakly, the doctor rolled her eyes and gestured towards and examination chair with her head. Once Taylor had carefully settled herself on the tissue paper covering the leather chair Jen started to work on her arm.

"How did you manage to burn your arm?" The older woman asked, gently lifting the limb to examine it properly.

"I fell pretty hard on a boiling tin roof while attempting to land a jump" Taylor explained.

"And how'd that go?" The medic asked sarcastically.

"Landed flawlessly, did a flip and everything"

"Well..." Jen snorted after a moment's silence "It's not one of your worst injuries, it's just a scald if anything. And from the looks of things the skin you lost was from a nasty graze rather than an actual burn" she applied some antithetic cream, which stung like all hell but Taylor didn't complain.

"How was it?" Jen finally asked as she began wrapping her arm up in some gauze. Taylor was silent for a moment, then it all came crashing back to her as she remembered Royce. Her stomach clenched sharply and her throat tightened, once she'd reigned the emotion back in she sighed raggedly.

"We lost Meat and Royce" She said flatly, Jen raised her eyebrows in mild surprise. She's was quite familiar with the 141 men from working on their base for so long, she cleared her throat and softened her expression slightly.

"Ah, I'm sorry Taylor" The doctor said, genuine sincerity in her voice "I know how close you and Royce were, he was a good man. Meat too"

"The Captain told me that they couldn't even extract their bodies, Roach was quick enough to take their dog tags and letters but now their families don't even have a body to bury" Her voice gradually became lower, Jen had finished bandaging her arm up and was watching the younger soldier with a guarded expression "Royce was gonna get married at some point this year too" Taylor continued to ramble, knowing that Jen would keep her thoughts to herself "He and Sharon were just getting started, they were together for years. and it took seconds to destroy, and I'm sure Meat had a special someone waiting for him too" She hiccuped slightly as she remembered their bickering on the way to Rio, wishing him luck before he led Meat and Roach into the favela. Then the radio message telling her that he won't be returning with them.

"It's not fair..." Taylor whispered, feeling pathetic in every aspect. This was why she was glad she had Jen on her good side, now matter what the Sergeant thought of you she would never judge another soldier, especially when they were at their most vulnerable.

"I know Taylor..." Jen sighed "But it happens, it hurts like hell losing someone you thought of as a brother, but all you can do now is move on. I know it's painful, but if I remember Royce he'd probably tell you to suck it up and stop moping" This drew a weak chuckle from the Lieutenant, she knew it was true. Royce was usually the one to tell her to get her arse in gear or to 'man up' when she was sulking.

"True" Taylor sighed, "But seriously, he was the only one who ever took my problems seriously. Except for you" She added the last part quickly.

"It'll be a long process" Jen said "But you'll get there, letting go is never easy after all" Taylor was silent for a long while.

"I'm going home" She stated bluntly, now Jen was shocked. But before she could interrupt Taylor continued "Once we bring this psychopath Makarov down I'm done"

"You don't mean that" Jen said firmly "You're exhausted and whether you admit it or not, very emotional. You wouldn't desert you team, that's not you. And there's no way in hell I'd let you rage-quit the 141"

"I promised my dad and sisters I'd come home safely" Taylor almost snapped "And I wouldn't be deserting, I'd be formally resigning. And with the amount of blows to the head I've received over the years it'll probably be for the best"

"Taylor" Jen sighed "Like I said, your tired. You just lost a best friend and you're obviously speaking out of anger. Please, just get some rest and come to me for a follow-up tomorrow okay?" Taylor pinched the bridge of her nose, knowing she wasn't talking about her arm, nevertheless she agreed and said goodnight before making her way to the barracks. Once inside her small room she jumped straight into the shower and heaved a heavy sigh as the lukewarm water washed over her grimy skin.

Another reason she missed having Royce around already, he understood her reasons for possible retirement. With three older siblings, two sisters and a brother he knew all about family commitments. It's not that the other men didn't, it's just that leaving the 141 for reasons other than injury was something that was never discussed. Not to mention all the training, she'd fought like hell to get to where she was today and she was still learning with every mission.

She reluctantly stepped out of the warm shower and changed into some comfy black combats and a grey t-shirt, she idly examined her fading dragon tattoo grimacing as she covered it with the sleeve. at least when she was younger it looked fitting enough, but now that she was steadily approaching her thirties it just looked tacky. She glanced at the digital clock on her bedside. It wasn't to late, she figured she could pay a quick visit to the rec room to see who was still up. She left her room and quietly made her way to the rec room, she shivered against the cold draft and hugged her small frame.

As she had expected, the rec room was empty save for a figure with his back to her. Hunched over in his seat on the couch, tossing his head back every now and then. Taylor frowned and slowly approached, instantly recognizing Roach. And the bottle of what she guessed to be scotch that sat on the coffee table before him, feeling an overwhelming sense of déjà vu she carefully approached.

"Roach?" she tentatively asked, the Sergeant stiffened. But proceeded to pour himself another shot of the dark liquid and swallow it with a short splutter. From his bloodshot eyes and almost sickly complexion Taylor had figured he'd already had enough. She silently sat on the other side of the sofa and said nothing, the younger soldier opened his mouth, only to shake his head and close it again. This went on for a few more minutes, Taylor could tell that he was still deeply shaken from his close escape today, he was covered in scratches and had a black eye from when he fell from the roof. He hadn't changed yet and his clothes were still covered in blood. He clumsily reached for the bottle again, only for Taylor to place a gentle hand on his forearm and slowly push it away.

"Probably not a good idea mate" She said with a soft chuckle. Roach simply sat back, staring blankly into space. Taylor sighed "So" she began "You're not taking this whole thing to well either eh?" She said, mentally slapping herself for her poor choice of words. But much to her surprise, the Sergeant chuckled softly.

"Not really" He admitted, turning his tired gaze to her guarded one "I saw it happen you know, to both of them" His voice was barely above a whisper.

"Roach..." She began, knowing exactly where this conversation was heading.

"Meat took a bullet right in his head" he said "Seconds after he'd broken cover..." Taylor cringed as his voice steadily became louder. Scotch and mourning were never a compatible couple. She moved the bottle out of his reach just in case and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Gary..." She almost snapped, but managed to keep her voice even. "Stop talking, you getting yourself worked up" Any efforts to calm him down failed as he shrugged her hand of and ran a hand over his eyes.

"Royce took a little longer..." Roach continued "He was shot twice in the chest as we moved forward, he died in my arms Taylor..." He looked pathetically at her, she was too speechless to try to stop him "He gave me a letter, it was for his family, his fiance .." He trailed off. "They died so far from home, and all I could do was leave them there..." His eyes glistened with un-shed tears.

"Stop" She said firmly, making the younger man jump. Her own chest was beginning to tighten and the awful feeling of her throat closing told her that she didn't want to here any more. "Stop winding yourself up" She began "I know you Gary, you would have done everything you could to help them. And I would be lying if I said I'm able to move on and let them go too, but don't let this ruin you. Punishing yourself over something that was completely out of your control won't help and it's only going to lead to your own self-destruction. Believe me, I know" She watched his face, waiting for her words to sink in.

"You've been doing this for a long time haven't you?" He asked quietly, when she nodded he continued "That means you've lost a lot of friends right?" Taylor frowned.

"In the last ten years?" She began with a short scoff "A lot" She sighed, there was nothing she wanted more than for this conversation to close. But she couldn't leave Roach in this state.

"And, you were able to move on?" He asked, "Just like that?" Taylor gave him a weak smile.

"Oh god no" She laughed hollowly "After what happened five years ago, I didn't completely bounce back, and i'm still surprised that I was able to carry on the way I did. I suppose I have Soap-ah-MacTavish to thank for that" She barely corrected herself in time, but thankfully Roach was inebriated enough not to notice her mistake. "But I do miss them, but I can't afford to let it consume me. Especially not now"

"But..." Roach began, frowning in what looked like confusion "That's good right? It's good that you can still feel pain, sadness and anger that they're gone?" Taylor cocked an eyebrow.

"I guess" She answered honestly "But I might need a little more explanation" Roach rubbed his eyes for the hundredth time and leaned his head back against the sofa.

"I've heard other soldiers, mostly the Rangers anyway. Say that we're basically robots, they've heard about the horrible things we've done, the torture, the killing. Mostly in the name of useless Intel, they seem to be convinced that we're these emotionless, numb warriors" He paused, "But this proves them wrong right? I mean, the fact that we can still feel pain and anger when we lose someone we care about, that proves that we're still human doesn't it? If I do make it through all this I don't want to lose my humanity" Taylor was stunned, but at the same time he heart was breaking. Both for Gary and the fact that others perceived her as this battle hardened soldier she was desperately avoiding to become. This was exactly how her family used to see her.

"You're right" She said softly "No matter what we've done in the past we're still only human" She paused, beginning to feel uncomfortable "Now..." She slowly stood and offered a hand "You're exhausted, and chances are you won't remember this oddly philosophical exchange we've just had, now go to bed. Knowing our luck we'll be on another op tomorrow" He gratefully accepted her outstretched hand and shakily got to his feet.

"Thanks" He said weakly "Again, you always know what to say" She simply smiled as he retreated from the rec room. Once he was out of sight she collapsed heavily onto the sofa. Allowing a few of tears to run down her cheek, she furiously wiped her eyes and managed to halt her crying all together. But she kept repeating what Roach had said in her mind, and she couldn't help but feel that maybe he was right. Maybe she wasn't so far gone after all...

* * *

><p>The next few days were awkward to say the least, the loss of Meat and Royce was still raw and the 141 were dealing with it the only way they knew how. To push it deep inside and never speak of it, any mourning would be done in private and they move on. The American members of the team had been beside themselves since the Russians had invaded their home, the past few days had been full of frantic calls to families and furious destruction of various items of furniture when they couldn't get through to their possibly endangered loved ones. Taylor tried not to dwell on the fact that they were now in World War 3, the thought of the conflict spreading to her own home was enough to make her want to be sick.<p>

Roach was feeling a little better, he didn't remember much of his chat with Taylor but he remembered that she helped. He didn't say anything, and she didn't force him.

The men had been told to gather in one of the conference rooms, Taylor was a little late and had to stand at the back with Archer while MacTavish sorted his papers with Ghost at the end of the table. It was the first time Taylor had seen the Captain since Meat and Royce were killed, he didn't look to good, she noted to her self. The skin underneath his eyes was purple and baggy, his shoulders slumped slightly and he seemed almost vacant. He looked up briefly to make sure everyone had shown up, Taylor made sure to catch his eye. Giving him a concerned look, he simply nodded once and cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"Right" The Scott began "Thanks for bearing with us, I know the past few days have been absolute hell and understand that some of you are concerned about your loved ones back home. But we have new orders from Shepherd" Everyone in the room seemed to simultaneously wince, ignoring the obvious tension MacTavish continued "Whilst interrogating Rojas, for those of you who weren't present we manage to divulge some information about a 'Prisoner 627' locked up in a Russian gulag whom Makarov seems to have a personal vendetta against. If we intercept him and get our hand on 627 we can use him to lure that psychopath out into the open, and I think you can figure out the rest"

Each man shared a glance, Taylor kept her gaze firmly fixed on the Captain. She vaguely remembered him mentioning this in Rio, but how reliable was this piece of information? An unidentified prisoner of war who was nothing to them at the moment but a number trapped in one of the most hellish prisons on God's green earth and who happened to be Makarov's number one enemy, it wasn't really much to go on and what was available didn't sound all too appealing. MacTavish brought up a map of what appeared to be a series of oil rigs in East Russia.

"But as usual" MacTavish continued "There's something blocking us, SAM sites placed on these oil rigs are preventing us from getting to the gulag" He paused to zoom in on a detailed close up of the structures "It gets better, we need to neutralize the oil rigs carefully since the Russian soldiers in control have taken civilian workers as an insurance policy should any Americans attack, they'll most likely be using them as human shields" Taylor stifled a groan, stealth was her least favorite type of mission, she sense the aggravation of the men around her. Casting her eyes to the ground, Taylor idly chewed her lip. She wasn't to thrilled about quietly assaulting a frozen oil rig, and she wouldn't want to be responsible for the death of an Innocent civilian if a bullet decides to stray, it was ridiculous how complicated these missions could get.

But if it brought them one step closer to Makarov. Then so be it.

* * *

><p><strong>This story is the bane of my very existence -_-<strong>

**Not really, but as you can see I introduced another female, just because Taylor's the only woman in the 141 it doesn't mean she isn't the only woman on base ;), but all OC's belong to me. And i'm not sure if anyone is still reading this, but if you are then I hope you enjoyed! And I've been a good girl doing all my work in college so I should be having a few weeks off soon :D. I still don't own the COD franchise, just thought I'd throw that in there...**

**Until next time! :D **


	9. Old Friends and Shell Shock

**Okay, I don't think there are any tangible words found in the English language that I can use to formulate a sentence that could even begin to express how sorry I am for nearly forgetting about this story. I promised to finish it by January, but I let you down. But please let me explain myself. **

**I'll keep this short, my grandmother passed away over Christmas and a family friend was killed and another injured in a pretty horrific car accident in February. So this entire year has been one massive kick in the face, also. I'm really busy with two jobs and college so my time is not my own :(**

**But we are so close to the end now! And if anyone is still reading this and had been waiting for an update, I gift you with this chapter :) the rest will be uploaded over the next few weeks.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

><p>"U.S.S. Chicago Actual to dry-dock shelter, we have a go"<p>

"SDV hangar flooded, full pressure"

Bubbles sailed up past her goggles as Hazard slowly released the breath she'd been holding; as she tried to keep her air intake steady she shared a quick glance with Roach who clutched the pair of handles to her left. Hazard flexed her fingers before gripping the bars a little tighter; she had no problem with being underwater. In fact, she was a bit of a water baby herself when she was young. But being cramped in a metal tube a few hundred-odd feet under the ocean in east Russia wasn't exactly her idea for a good swim, it probably stemmed for her general hatred of small spaces. Particularly the fact that if she was to come under fire, (no matter how unlikely) she would have no decent cover; idly kicking her legs she tried to push such thoughts to the back of her mind.

"Begin deployment" The smooth American baritone of the sub-commander buzzed in their ears, Hazard smirked and the hatch opened, the Navy SEAL driving the SDV gave her the 'okay' sign; she nodded in return, gripping the rails even more harder as the steadily ventured forward towards the oil rig. She allowed herself a soft sigh of relief as they propelled into the open water.

"Team One SDV is away" a male voice confirmed over the radio.

Shaking her head gently to clear the bubbles, she squinted as the oil rigs came into view.

"Hotel Six, bearing zero one-niner"

"U.S.S. Dallas deploying Team Two, RV at the objective"

"Hotel Six, depth 20 meters" The driver of the SDV gave theirs thumbs up as they breezed past them, thankfully the journey was a quiet one with the only living creatures in their way were fish, with the oil rig only now meters away both vehicles came to a halt. Hazard looked to Roach, giving him an encouraging thumbs up and watched as he gently pushed away from the SDV and glided to the surface. Hazard followed, steadily kicking her legs and slowly sweeping her arms upwards to keep herself just beneath the thin line separating her from the air. She could vaguely here someone yelling in Russian, but the ripples in the sea water distorted his words and she was terrible with languages as it is. She focused on keeping still while gently kicking her legs to stop them from cramping, she nearly flinched when MacTavish's voice filled their open radios.

"In position, let's take them out together...on your go" His command was barely a whisper as Roach obeyed, pushing himself through to the surface. Hazard held her breath; the second she spotted the heavily clothed guard sink to the black depths of the ocean she grabbed the side of the platform. Hauling self up into the freezing air, yanking off the neck-breaking scuba equipment and pulling the tight hood of her wet suit back revealing her tightly braided hair. She knew it was probably best to have a much head coverage as possible, but the outfit was already too compressing in all the wrong places. Leveling her M4A1, Hazard did a quick sweep of the deck. Turning in time to see Worm along with Peasant, one of the other Navy SEALS on loan, help Roach up onto the icy deck.

"Two hostiles down in section One-Alpha, moving up to section two" The Captain spoke to the sub commander, Hazard waited for their leader to pass before following. Hazard sneered at the sight of solid ice encrusting the corners of the steps as the ascended the staircase, gradually centering herself on the least frozen parts as they climbed upwards.

"Keep it tight people" MacTavish murmured "Ready weapons. Move up"

Hazard silently checked over her weapon, the freezing air combined with sea water never did any good for assault rifles. Her grey eyes flicked back up, her muscles tensed and she came to a complete stop. The others did the same as they observed two more guards leaning casually against the wall, Hazard rolled her eyes. So much for diligence these days.

"Got a visual by the railing" Ghost's said softly, already aiming his rifle.

"Free to engage. Suppressed weapons only" MacTavish responded. Hazard didn't bother pulling the trigger as Roach and Ghost sent the two unfortunate Russians limply flying over the frozen bars and into the murky depths, as they began moving again the voice of the sub commander buzzed through their ear-pieces.

"Civilian hostages at your position, watch your fire" Hazard grit her teeth, the only thing she hated more than stealth was liability. But she kept any misgivings to herself and mentally prepared herself to shoot straight, the last thing she wanted was to have a civilian's death on her hands.

"Roger that" MacTavish replied, ushering Roach forward to the first of many doors "Team One moving to breach"

Much to her silent relief, Hazard was ordered to watch their six. Meaning all she had to do was kneel and watch the stairs they had just ascended, even though it was highly unlikely that they were expecting anyone at the moment, she heard the dull metal thump as Roach pressed the C4 against the door. Her only reaction to the small explosion was a quick blink of the eyes before she lurched to her feet and followed her Captain, by the time she had made the short few meter journey the guards were dead and the terrified hostages were in the hands of the SEALS. Hazard took a moment to observe the cocktail of explosives each poor oil worker was strapped too, she had to admit that even for the Ultranationalists this was a little extreme. Team two stayed back to evacuate the hostages, Hazard re-adjusted her weapon and followed her fearless leader to the second deck. All was quiet until the sub commander's voice returned.

"Enemy helo patrolling the perimeter. Keep a low profile, Hotel Six" the American advised, Hazard immediately began look for hiding places as well as keeping an eye out for more guards. Only seconds later did they hear the all too familiar beating of propellers up ahead.

"Enemy helo, get out of sight" MacTavish warned, but his team were already rolling behind stacks of concrete and various barrels. Hazard was just about small enough to wedge herself under a table inside a warehouse; she peeked out and watched the small helo fly overhead, once they were clear they continued onward. They carefully climbed more frozen stairs before they reached the second door, faint voices could be heard on the other side of the metal. Hazard stood back while Roach, Ghost and MacTavish went ahead and cleared the room, once the last of the guards had fallen, Hazard along with Archer and Worm entered and examined the room. It was a simple communications room, with radios and a range of complicated and blood-splattered equipment that Hazard didn't even pretend to understand.

"Clear. Control - all Deck Two hostages secured" MacTavish announced into his mic, but their small victory was short lived. Every pair of eyes in the room darted to a buzzing radio on the floor; broken Russian laced in heavy static could be heard.

"Enemy radio..." Ghost cleverly observed "I think we're going to have company sir..." There were a few beats of silence before their Captain answered.

"Set up for Plan B. Get some C4 on those bodies, go" MacTavish ordered, Hazard stepped aside for Roach and watched while he rigged the Russian corpses with the explosives. Once he was done he nodded to the Captain.

"Get to an elevated position; we'll ambush them when they discover the bodies" Hazard nodded once, throwing a quick glance at her surroundings before sprinting towards some awkwardly built scaffolding, MacTavish was first up. Roach followed, careful not to drop the detonator, as Hazard began her ascent Roach offered his spare hand. After hauling her small body onto the damp, thin wooden platform she silently went prone. Hiding behind some splintered planks and peeked through on of the many cracks. She heard faint voices below, squinting and blinking her watery eyes. She could easily see a small patrol heading their way.

"There's the patrol. Hold your fire until they're closer. Standby... Standby..." Hazard carefully readied her rifle, her body trembling slightly from the anticipation. Her keen eyes never left the Russian soldiers as they examined the room where they had set up the explosives, she could hear the chatter intensify on their radios as they realized what the 141 had done.

"Plan B. Do it" MacTavish murmured, Rach pulled his arm back. Retrieving the detonator and placing his gloved thumb on the switch, the Russian patrol didn't stand a chance as the dead bodies of their fellow Ultranationalists exploded. Destroying the communications room and sending unsuspecting bodies flying, some however. Were merely shell-shocked and it was seconds before they spotted the culprits behind the trap and the 141 came under fire, Hazard wasted no time as she lay down cover fire while Roach picked of the Russians closest to their position.

"Control, this is Hotel Six. Our cover is blown!" Hazard barely heard her Captain over the chaos, thankfully the sub-commander replied to all of them.

"Copy that, intel still indicates hostages and possible explosives on the top deck. Your team needs to secure that location before we can send in reinforcements to handle the SAM sites, over" Hazard re-loaded and kept firing, knowing that they had to be quick. The hostages were in real trouble now.

"Roger that. Will call for exfil in LZ Bravo. CentCom needs us to take the top deck ASAP so they can send in the Marines. Move!" Hazard obeyed, rolling on her side then pulling her self onto her knees before sliding down the ladder, she dived for cover. Bullets barely missing her head while killed the remaining enemies, the sun-commanders voice returned as they began to push forward.

**"**Hotel Six, hostages from the lower decks are being extracted by Team 2. Proceed to the top deck ASAP to secure the rest, over"

**"**Copy that, we're working on it. Out" MacTavish calmly answered, the team eliminated the remaining Russians and bolted up the stair to the next deck where they encountered heavier resistance. Hazard stuck with Ghost and crouched behind what appeared to be a stack of cinder blocks. The two soldiers barely managed to fire two shots each before they were forced back into cover, after a few more minutes of this Hazard growled in frustration before reaching for her belt, ripping a pin from one of her grenades and hauled it over their concrete barrier. It worked, the explosion killed one and stunned two of their enemies, giving them enough time to kill the remaining resistance. Their minor victory was short-lived, as soon as the yells died down the sound of the little bird making its round forced both Ghost and Hazard, who were nearest to the helo, to back up into more effective cover.

**"**Attack heli 12 o'clock, find some cover!; Enemy helo! Take cover! Take cover!" The Lieutenant yelled as the helicopters guns began to spin, there was a split second difference between the two soldiers finding shelter in a thin steel shed and the rapid shriek of the helo's bullets striking the ground around them. The flimsy steel was shredded instantly, forcing Hazard and Ghost to go prone. MacTavish and Roach and had found refuge in the warehouse, with Archer a few paces back keeping the Russians at bay with his sniper. Hazard bit her lip and frantically looked for any decent cover near-by, their best bet was the warehouse. But the helo would have re-loaded by then and they'd both be splattered on the rig. She threw a glance back at Ghost, she couldn't see and inch of his face but from the way his neck craned and his head snapped from side to side she could tell he was struggling to find an escape too.

"Roach! We're getting shredded by that chopper, use an RPG and take it out!" MacTavish had used the brief lull in the little birds firing to command his subordinate, the Sargent reacted instantly. He grabbed one of the many rocket launchers lying forgotten on the table, the chopper appeared to be gearing up for another assault near Ghost and Hazard's cover. But it didn't have the chance as Roach was able to clip the propellers with a rocket, sending it spinning in a fiery mess into the ocean.

**"**Nice shot, Roach" Ghost called as he and his companion emerged from cover "Enemy helo neutralized" Hazard simply offered a small smirk, her brain still in overdrive from the minor panic from earlier. Archer caught up to them, shouldering his rifle and focusing on their Captain.

**"**The clock's ticking. We need to get topside and secure any remaining hostages before we call in the Marines" MacTavish barked, he received a few nodded of acknowledgement before they pushed on-wards.

Even without their air-support, the Russians managed to make it impossible for them. As soon as the 141 reached the next deck the Ultranationalists had thrown up smoke screens which had festered long enough to block their few completely. Having been forced to ditch her empty weapon, Hazard thanked her lucky stars when she found a half-loaded thermal optic lying abandoned on the ground. As they began to engage the invisible enemy, they made sure to stay close. The last thing they needed was a friendly fire charge, they pushed through the smoke. Hiding behind crates and tanks as they went, Hazard managed to clear most of the balcony with Archers help. Eliminating the snipers, allowing them to focus on the ground troops. Eventually, they made it the the final room where the last of the hostages were held, they breached the room from both sides. Successfully saving the last of the oil workers, Hazard allowed herself a sigh of relief. Thanking the gods that there were no casualties, she shared a mutual look of satisfaction with Archer and Roach.

"Room clear. Control, all hostages have been secured. I repeat - all hostages secured. proceeding to LZ Bravo. Over" MacTavish reported into his radio, only Hazard could hear the dissipation of tension in his voice.

**"**Good job, Hotel Six. Marine reinforcements are inserting now to dismantle the SAM sites. Get your team ready for phase two of the operation. Out"

The team headed to the evac site. Hazard boarded the side of the little bird, perching on the end with Archer in the middle and Toad on his right. Once settled, she allowed her muscles to relax and leaned her head against the metal. She finally acknowledged how exhausted she was, her legs were trembling slightly and her neck was aching from when she had to wedge herself under the small table to hide from the chopper. As the little bird steadily levitated and steered away from the oil rig Hazard watched as the Marines rappelled from their choppers and dispersed onto the oil rigs, but as the cold air caressed her scarred face her eyelids began to flutter slightly. She caught herself and jolted her head slightly, remembering that this was only part one of the mission. And falling asleep while sitting on the rail of a chopper wasn't the most sensible thing to do, she glanced to her friend beside her and nudged him to get his attention.

"Archer, don't let me fall asleep on this thing. I would hate for MacTavish to put sleeping on the job as my cause of death"

* * *

><p>The ride was short, and surprisingly quiet. It was the perfect opportunity for the team to gather their thoughts and have a few moments of peace, of course. This was short lived as the American fighter jets came into view, the noise would have been agonizing had the team not been wearing their ear-plugs. Hazard watched with an almost child-like fascination as the jets seamlessly twisted and leveled with their choppers.<p>

"Thirty seconds" MacTavish announced over the radio, Hazard remained still while Archer and Toad prepared their sniper rifles. Her attention was quickly diverted by the jets as they began their assault on the gulag, as the first two missiles made contact Hazard finally had a good look at the building (when the smoke cleared). She was mildly amazed at how the old castle was holding its own against the assault, if it managed to withstand the brutal winters of Russia all these years she could only imagine what was waiting for them inside.

"All snipers, this is MacTavish, standby to engage. Stabilize" MacTavish ordered, the Captain dutifully acknowledged the commanded and held the copper still. Hazard shifted a little, feeling incredibly exposed as she stared at the SAM sites that were being armed as they hovered. "All snipers - clear to engage". The next few assaults proceeded in this pattern, the snipers eliminated the target arming the SAM's then they shifted right. Repeating this several times before they reached a search tower, MacTavish called for the snipers to fins and eliminate the targets inside but the Navy had beaten them to it. And F-15 breezed past them and used a missile attack on the tower, the speed of the aircraft alone was enough to cause the choppers to suddenly and quite violently wobble.

"Hang on!" Their pilot yelled, his struggle with the controls audible. Having both her hands free, Hazard grabbed the rail underneath her and instinctively used her other arm to steady Archer as the 6 foot sniper very nearly toppled forward. She looked frantically at Toad, relieved that he'd managed to grab the side door of the chopper, albeit at the cost of dropping his sniper rifle. Once the little bird's had finally settled, Hazard released her friend but didn't let go of the rail.

"Shepherd! Get those fighters to cease fire immediately! That was too close!" A very pissed off Captain MacTavish yelled.

**"**I'll try to buy you some time. One man in a gulag doesn't mean much to the Navy at this point" The equally snippy reply of the good General came. Hazard rolled her eyes, still a little stunned from the sudden jolt of the helo.

**"**Bloody Yanks! I thought they were the good guys!" Ghost sneered, Hazard snorted. The Lieutenant had echoed her thoughts perfectly.

**"**Ghost cut the chatter. Stay frosty" MacTavish chastised his second in command, but Hazard knew him well enough to know that he probably agreed. As they landed, Hazard could hear yelling from the captain and chatter from the pilots. But the wind was so high pitched in her ears that she didn't hear a thing, she launched from the rail and barely stopped herself from slipping as her feet touched the solid ice. She switched the safety off on her rifle and jogged to catch up with MacTavish, the retaliation was immediate and they hadn't even reached the courtyard before they came under fire. Most, if not all of the team had to switch to their M203's and used nearly all of their grenades before they were able to move again.

They made it to the entrance, clearing the corridor and eliminated the last of the enemies defending the entrance. They paused briefly before MacTavish turned to them.

"This is it! We go in, grab Prisoner 627, and get out! Check your corners! Let's go!" They continued through the corridors, Hazard frowned as she spotted some guards retreating back into the gulag. Possibly re-grouping to plot and ambush, but it never came. They reached a complicated looking control room. Ghost brushed past Hazard and went straight for a laptop sitting apart from the other monitors.

"I can use this to find the prisoner, I'll tap into their system and look for him. It's gonna take some time" The Lieutenant barked as his gloved fingers began to frantically dance over the keyboard.

**"**Copy that" MacTavish replied before turning to Hazard "Archer, Toad and Hazard stay here and protect Ghost. Roach, Worm, we're on cell duty. Follow me" Hazard barely kept her shocked expression in check as she watched the three soldiers disappear down the stairs and into the darkness, she glanced at a dumbstruck Toad and a grumpy looking Archer. She'd actually been left behind! She'd be lying her herself if she said that she didn't want to find out who 627 was first hand, and they'd already cleared the courtyard. It was incredibly unlikely that they would see any action, nevertheless. She resigned herself to her fate and leaned against the desk next to Ghost, should any enemies show up he would be right in the line of fire and his attention was completely focused on Roach, Worm and MacTavish. Archer and Toad stood guard by the entrance, Hazard suppressed her jealousy as she heard the mission unfold on her radio.

"All right, I'm patched in. I'm tracking your progress on the security cameras" Ghost announced.

**"**Copy that! Do you have the location of Prisoner 627?" Came the Captains reply, the Lieutenant paused for a moment while he scammed the screen.

**"**Negative, but I've got a searchlight tracking hostiles on your floor. That should make your job easier"

"Roger that" the Captain replied, his next words were directed at the two men with him "Stay sharp! The prisoner may be in one of these cells" in the next few moments of silence something flickered in the corner of Hazard's eye, she craned her neck to get a better look and nearly swore as a team of soldiers steadily made their way towards them. "Ghost, we've hit a security door, get it open!"

**"**Workin' on it...this hardware is ancient!" the end of his sentence was drowned out as Hazard loudly and ungracefully swore before clumsily falling into a crouched position as a bullet barely grazed her shoulder, Archer and Toad sprung into action and began firing. "Shit!" Ghost cursed "Hazard? Hazard?! Are you hit?" He grabbed her upper arm and shook her slightly, hazard had just finished patting herself down. Only finding a very minor burn on her jacket, but no damage to her skin. She latched onto Ghost's forearms and pulled herself up.

"I'm fine sir!" She shakily yelled before pulling herself together, she began firing at the enemy. Eliminating a decent amount before crouching to re-load.

"Ghost, you opened the wrong door!" Hazard heard MacTavish yell, she paid it little mind as she focused on keeping the Russians away from the control room. Ghost muttered to himself and Hazard could practically see him roll is eyes under his shades.

**"**Roger, standby" Ghost replied once he calmed down "Got it!"

Hazard kept her head in the fight, but every time she stopped to re-load they were nearly overwhelmed. A quick look told her that they were avoiding the narrow hallway where Toad and Archer stood and opting to attack from the various balconies along with adjoining rooms, firing through smashed windows. They'd already destroyed a decent amount of their cover, Hazard was outnumbered and MacTavish's lifeline was vulnerable, she used up the last of her grenades and flash bangs, sparing a glance towards the entrance she saw that Archer was occupied. But Toad was only picking of the odd straggler that didn't make it past Archer.

"Toad!" She yelled, making Ghost flinch slightly "I need some help, they're destroying us over here!" The younger soldier complied and swiftly made his way over, finding cover on Ghost's left side. Hazard's burned was instantly eased with Toads help and the enemy lines had thinned considerably.

"Talk to me Ghost...these cells are deserted!" MacTavish called over the radio during a brief lull in the fighting.

**"**Got it! Prisoner 627's been transferred to the east wing! Head through the armory in the center, that's the fastest way there" Ghost answered after a few moments.

It was impossible her her to keep up with the mission as they came under attack again, Hazard tried to keep up on her friends progress. From what she could tell it wasn't going well, Ghost was hacking at a snail's pace and it sounded like MacTavish and the others were in trouble. But all she could do was focus on keeping the Lieutenant covered, just as they had defeated another wave of Russians a low rumble shook the building, it wasn't big. But the four soldiers froze, they all knew what the cause of the tremor was. But none of them wanted to say it out loud, they were forced to acknowledge it when a much louder, more sever explosion racked the building. Causing the standing soldiers to stumble slightly, they shared a frantic look.

"Shepherd!" MacTavish yelled, sounding angrier that Hazard had ever heard him "What the hell was that? Get the navy to cease fire!"

"Hang on" Hazard snapped "It's the Navy that's trying to flatten us?"

"Looks like it" Ghost quipped, still tapping away on the keyboard "Told you we were out of friends"

"The Navy isn't in a talking mood right now. Standby. Bravo Six - they've agreed to stop firing for now. Keep going, I'll keep you posted. Out" Shepherd's curt reply came, Hazard sighed. At least someone higher up was trying to look out for them. She squinted through the dust, any soldiers that would have attacked would have been taken out in the blast. Still, she kept an eye on the debris while Ghost continued to guide MacTavish's team through the prison.

"Hazard" Archer called, the woman in question turned her attention towards her teammate "I was thinking about scouting ahead, make sure we're in the clear, cover me?"

"Good idea" Hazard concurred "Toad, stay here just in case. You're still exposed" The young sniper nodded, Hazard turned on her heel and stayed a few paces behind Archer as he searched the now settled debris up ahead. Much to their relief, they encountered no more stragglers. But before they could return to their posts, they were deafened by a heavy crash and violently thrown back by an intense shock wave that shook the entire corridor, a hail of concrete and glass came next. Hazard rolled onto her side, her back taking most of the damage while her shell-shocked mind slowly realized that they had just been hit by a bomb. As she came to this conclusion, General Shepherd's urgent voice rung painfully in her ear.

"Bravo Six be advised, they've started the bombardment early! Get the hell out of there now!" Hazard heard him perfectly clearly, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't get her body moving. Luckily for her, Toad and Ghost had managed to avoid the worst of the explosion, the masked Lieutenant hauled Hazard to her feet while Toad went to his partners aid.

"Come on Hazard! Get up get up! we have to go!" Ghost urged, he wrapped her arm around his shoulder and held her up by her waist. Hazard managed to figure out which leg was left and with Ghost's help thee four soldiers managed to make it through the ruined corridors and out into what was left of the courtyard. As her senses slowly came back to her Hazard began to carry her own weight, Toad was assisting a slumped Archer into the pave low. Once he secured his partner he carefully assisted Hazard into the aircraft and gently sat her down. Once the pave low had taken off Hazard was beginning to slowly bounce back, it wasn't the first time she'd been hit by an explosion and she was much more condition to them than she used to be.

"Did Captain MacTavish make it out?" Toad asked, stealing the question from Hazard's lips. She finally looked up and saw that Ghost had taken the seat next to her, he sighed and let out a short chuckle.

"They're fine. They've got 627"

* * *

><p>Ghost jumped from the pave low, his boots hitting the concrete with a heavy thud. He glanced back, watching as Toad and a Navy paramedic assisted a drowsy Hazard and Archer to the infirmary. The Lieutenant felt a slight pang of guilt at the fact they they were technically hurt while keeping his arse alive. He'd have to check on them later.<p>

He idly reached under his mask to scratch his stubbly chin as he approached the second pave low, he wasn't to sure what to expect. He'd assumed that 627 was a defected Ultranationalist, that was the most logical conclusion. But the last thing he expected was his friend and Captain, with a big grin on his face leading a haggard looking shell of a man as if they were old mates. The red haired man stopped for a second, he glanced Roach behind them. Cradling his head in his hands as if he'd pulled an all nighter, and more alarmingly he saw the waiting crowd of medics rush the Navy SEAL Worm to the infirmary.

"What happened to Worm sir?" Were the first words to leave the cockney lips, MacTavish looked surprised for a moment, but his face then turned grave.

"Burned, we barely scraped it out of there. He was caught in the blast but he should be fine" The Lieutenant nodded, slightly relieved that no one died because of the stupidly slow Russian technology. The old man standing next to MacTavish was momentary forgotten as Ghost fixed his eyes on Roach.

"And what the bloody hell happened to you eh?" He asked in mild amusement "Got blindsided by a Russian did we?"

"Not by a Russian..." the Sargent almost whimpered, Ghost frowned before finally turning his attention to the prisoner. Instant recognition flashed in his eyes, and for the first time in his life Ghost was shocked speechless.

"Price?" he almost spluttered, the man before him nodded once. Ha hadn't changed much, Ghost mentally noted. He looked much older, haggard, he was bruised and scarred but it was definatly the man who led them on Operation Kingfish. A thousand questions were on the tip of his tongue but he couldn't bring himself to voice them, MacTavish broke the awkward silence.

"I think we all have some catching up to do"

* * *

><p><strong>There we go! Sorry again about the delays! if anyone is reading this than thank you :) I also really appreciate any messages and reviews :D xxx<strong>


	10. Banter, and A Small Mutiny

"I don't believe it" Taylor sighed, a smirk touching her chapped lips "Even when all you had to do was clamp yourself to some wire and hang about while you were lifted to safety, you STILL managed to get yourself hurt"

It was two days after the 141 had recovered prisoner 627, or Captain Price to use his real name. Taylor still hadn't wrapped her head around the entire situation, and she wasn't quite ready to yet. She chose to pay her SEAL friend a visit in the infirmary, thankfully. Worm had survived being burned within an inch of his life, his arms, legs and torso took heavy damage but his face mostly remained intact much to his relief.

"Hey!" the invalid soldier protested "It happens to all of us" the red-head before him scoffed.

"No, washing your car seconds before a rainstorm happens to all of us. Nearly being roasted to death in mid-air it quite a rare occurrence funnily enough" the SEAL gave a weak laugh and relaxed back into the pillow, Taylor sighed. Wishing for a moment that she actually had the ability to be comforting for once, but Worm didn't seem to be taking offence. The room quickly fell into silence; Taylor's thoughts immediately strayed to Price, Soap, the gulag, and everything else that brought them to this confusing, exhausting moment. Worm caught the blank look in her eyes.

"Are you okay?" He asked almost tentatively "I mean, I'm in a bad way but you must be pretty shaken up" he paused, Taylor caught his eye. Silently asking him to continue "He was you Captain for years…" He trailed off; the woman sitting beside him sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I don't know…" she said eventually "It's good for the mission I guess, but I still need to think. I don't think the shock has quite worn off yet, or the guilt" the last part was so quiet the the bedridden American brush it of as a tired grumble. Worm chuckled, then immediately winced. Taylor frowned in sympathy before slowly standing.

"Right" She grunted, stretching her back and heading for the door "Get some rest; I need to get to that bloody radio meeting thing"

"Hey!" Worm called, Taylor half turned her body and quirked and eyebrow "I know I'm out of this thing for good, i'm not stubborn enough to think that i'll see this thing through with you guys, but don't let me fall out of the loop. I'll go insane otherwise" Taylor leaned against the door-frame, giving him a proper smile for once.

"I'll keep you updated, I promise. Just concentrate on getting better"

'Poor bastard' Taylor though grimly as she walked away from the infirmary, exchanging quick pleasantries with Jen before heading to the conference room. She arrived in the cramped room just in time to see Toad take the last seat at the long table; she silently grumbled and took up her usually spot at the back. Roach joined her, but she paid him no heed as she focused on the two men at the front as they quietly pored over some documents in front of them. Her eyes automatically drifted to the familiar yet strange face of Captain Price, two days after the mission when she and Archer were discharged from the infirmary Soap had stopped them both to bring them up to speed, it was then where she learned of Worms injury and that the prisoner Makarov had a personal vendetta against was their own Captain Price.

Taylor hadn't been that shocked in a while Archer seemed rather indifferent; not knowing the man personally the news didn't floor him like it did Taylor, she all but dragged Soap back to his office by his ear to demand more information.

He hadn't changed that much, she mused while she subtly watched Price. His handlebar mustache was gone, replaced by a graying brown beard that still matched his amazingly enough still full head of hair. His face was heavily scarred, more so than she remembered, but his stance and expressions hadn't changed, he still carried that permanently un-amused look of his. But she couldn't help but think of the effect that all that time in the gulag must have had on him, she still wasn't entirely sure of the exact nature of the prison. Whether it was a labor camp or a torture one, but she was willing to push it all to the back of her mind and be grateful for the fact that her old Captain was back.

"Right" Soap cleared his throat and raised his voice to silence the room; Taylor immediately snapped out of her daydream and turned her attention to the Scott. "As most of you know, this is Captain Price. It seems our luck is finally turning, he's the one Makarov wanted and we got to him first. We're lucky to have him on our side" there was a pause, which was very unlike Soap. He never hesitated "Which is why he's leading you from her on out"

Silence, Price stood tall. His arms folded across his chest and his expression blank, Taylor practically squirmed as the tension, anger and shock radiated from each soldier, making the already tiny room even smaller. Not one man, however, spoke up or made a single protest. They most likely didn't want to incite any form of argument or reaction from the old Captain, who continued to scrutinize each person's reaction. Taylor didn't even try to hide the shock from her face, neither did Roach. They shared a look before the woman turned her eyes to Soap, the younger Captain seemed composed, but she knew him well enough to know that he was desperate for the entire meeting to be over. The few minutes passed like hours, but once he was sure no one would speak up Soap continued.

"We'll be receiving orders from Shepherd shortly, turn in for the night and be ready tomorrow. Once the general receives the Intel you're shipping out. Meeting adjourned" the room cleared, Taylor considered hanging back to speak to her Captain and friend. But she didn't feel quite up to making awkward small talk with Price, they had never really had any extended interaction with one another apart from commands anyway. She watched as Soap briskly stalked from towards the door, his left and shoved deep in his pocket as he obviously searched for his Villa Clara's. She knew exactly where he was going, she wouldn't follow just yet though.

Eventually, Taylor had decided that enough time had passed. Once she had left the conference room she headed for the rec room, as she had expected the men were none too happy with the arrangement. They found it despicable that Soap was leaving them in the care of a possibly insane criminal. She couldn't listen any more, she had to admit that the arrangement didn't completely sit right with her but Price was no criminal, he was a good man who had done more for these men that they will ever realize. As she made her way down the corridor, she fished in her pockets for her cigarettes and lighter, satisfied that she was carrying all that she needed she elbowed the bar on the fire exit and stepped out into the cold evening. As she had predicted, Soap was leaning against the rail, cigar in hand gazing at the vast expanse of nothing.

"You got time for one of those?" she asked mild amusement, gingerly leaning her lower back against the cold metal. Gently biting the end of her cigarette and leaning away from the breeze to light it, Soap took a long drag of his cigar,

"I'll make time" He sighed, blowing a few smoke rings. "I'm sure Shepherd can wait" Taylor eyed her friend with a guarded expression.

"You okay?" She asked "I haven't really checked in to see how you're handling everything; I know you must be as shocked as I am"

"It's a small victory" The Scott answered "The 141 has always needed Price, hell. We've always needed Price" Taylor knew by 'we' he didn't mean the whole team; she concentrated on her cigarette for a few moments. The question she's been dying to ask on the tip of her tongue but unable to make its way past her lips, Soap remained equally silent.

"Why put Price in charge?" she blurted, Soap nearly choked on the cigar smoke "I mean. I know he doesn't exactly need time to recover but why demote yourself? I've guessed you won't be joining us tomorrow" Soap turned to face her fully, much to her surprise he looked amused.

"Really Taylor?" he chuckled "We rescue Price, the best of the best from one of the seven circles of hell and you didn't think that he of all people would end up in charge?" Taylor snorted.

"Good point" she replied, but her shoulders slumped and her expression turned sour "But, I really thought we lost him. We mourned for him Soap…"

"I know" He cut her off, "But now, we have one of the best advantages we could hope for. If anyone is going to end this, it'll be Price" Taylor sighed, nodding in agreement. Then another thought occurred to her, one that had been bothering her since she'd come round in the infirmary. She almost didn't want to bring it up, but as always her mouth and sense of timing were not on the same page.

"Aren't there any appropriate..." she paused "Channels for this or something?"

"What?"

"Well...Price spent years in a gulag, how can we be sure that" another pause, each more awkward than the last "How can we be sure that he is in a good place, you know. Mentally" She let it hang in the air, Soap didn't speak for a few drags.

"I'd be lying if I said it didn't cross my mind, but I admit I got a little exited. Especially when Shepherd cleared Price himself" That was all the answer she was getting, so she swiftly switched topics.

"Did he ever thank you for taking such wonderful care of his pistol?" She asked with a sarcastic sweet smile, Soap rolled his eyes.

"He did, well…" Soap paused "Thank you weren't exactly the words he used" this caused them both to chuckled lightly, instantly elevating the earlier tension.

"So" She sighed "You'll be here listening to us have all the fun tomorrow then eh?" Soap glared at her,

"Yes, I'll be safe and warm here while you freeze your arses off at a sub-marine base and get shot at most likely for nothing" Taylor laughed, something she hadn't done in ages.

"Oh please!" she cried, tossing the finished cigarette to the floor ad smearing it with her boot "Safe and warm isn't you're thing" they both shared another laugh, Taylor had missed this. Just her and Soap, no 'Captains' no 'Sir's' and no '2nd Lieutenants', it had been so long since they talked as friends. The casual banter continued for a few more minutes, about the length of time it took for Soap to finish his cigar. The Scott sighed, almost relictantly he crushed the stub beneath his boot and announced he was going to see Shepherd. For lack of anything better to say, Taylor simply called as he parted:

"Good luck, God know's you'll need it"

* * *

><p>They were called to the briefing room early the next morning, Taylor wasn't surprised. They were working on a pretty tight time schedule, this coupled with the fact that Shepherd had to be debriefed on every little change. Which was made harder due to the good General not actually being in the vicinity with the only contact being through radio link. Once the team was assembled in the communications room they were able to listen to the transaction between Price and Shepherd, Soap was huddled over an old-looking radio while price stood straight beside him. Taylor was praying for it to be quick, the tempretures of the bodies packed so tightly together was fast becoming unbearable.<p>

"Up-link nearly complete. General Shepherd you're online with Captain Price" Soap announced before standing and handing Price the headset, the older Captain took a seat. His expression never changing.

"Back from the brink, Captain" The voice was that of an American, deep and slightly crackled with the low-quality of the radio.

"Out of the frying pan" is more like it. This world looks more like hell than the one I just left" Taylor had to fight the urge to groan and wished that for once, that all grizzled old soldiers would just skip the bravado banter for once. she idly picked at her T-shirt, watching it stick back to her skin in that irritating way that made her miss the brutal winters of Wales.

"We thought we'd recover the ACS before the Russians could crack it. We were wrong. Then Makarov turned the U.S. into his scapegoat. Next thing you know there's flames everywhere" the General paused while Price fiddle on the laptop that sat beside the radio, the silence was tense "What's this image you're sending me?" the room cringes at the dark suspicion in Shepherds voice.

"You wanna put out an oil fire, Sir, you set off a bigger explosion right next to it. Sucks away the oxygen. Snuffs the flame" the tension was replaced with confusion.

"Price, you been locked away too long. Better get your mind right, son" the General replied in warning.

"Shepherd, are you willing to do what is necessary to win?"

A pause "Always"

"We got ourselves a pretty big fire. Gonna need a huge bang" The 141 exchanged glances, it was safe to say that they had no idea what the hell the two old men were talking about.

"You've been in the gulag too long, Price. Focus on taking out Makarov" Shepherd was getting annoyed now, Taylor could tell.

"No time, sir. We need to end this war today" Price replied, his voice as steady as ever.

"I'm not asking you, Price. This is an order! You're to..." Silence. The static of the radio was cut off as the 141 stared in shock at Price, who has basically beat the radio into silence with the side of his fist.

"Hmm" The older man hummed "Looks like we lost our connection"

Taylor snorted, ignoring the few glances thrown in her direction. She didn't bother to hide her smirk, even when Price directed his steely gaze towards her, his blue eyes softened in amusement ever so softly. The rest of the team appeared to share her sentiments, having just witnessed, or heard the General being put in his place would no doubt lift their spirits a little.

"Well..." Toad mumbled, only loud enough for Taylor and Archer to hear "We never had anyone this badass in the SAS" Taylor had to bite her tongue to stop herself from snorting again, and from sarcastically mentioning that Price practically still was SAS. As the room cleared, the men spoke in hushed tones, the American members were still shaken and feared for their families back home. But it was safe to say that the Task Force would now willingly follow Price to wherever the hell he was planning on going.

If it meant that they were pissing off the good General of course.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry it's so short! But the next one will be the Contingency mission so it should be pretty good, I'm also planning on including a little interaction with Taylor and Price, because he cares about both her and Soap EQUALLY. he doesn't love one more than the other ;)<strong>

**Also, I call her Taylor when she's not on a mission and Hazard when she is on a mission. Juuuuust in case I confused anyone.**

**Please R+R **

**xxx**


	11. The Big Picture

Ah, cold. Sweet, sweet cold. How Hazard had missed the cold, sighing in quiet contention and leaning back against the chopper wall. Hazard carefully probed her weapon with thickly gloved hands, wrapped up in her heavy snow camouflage coat, thermals, goggles, and mask she was on cloud nine. It was always so much easier to snuggle up in some warm clothing during the cold than to try and cool down while wearing tactical Armour in the desert, cold was best Hazard decided.

The 141 were on their way to secure a route to a docked submarine at the Rybachiy naval base, near Petropavlovsk. Not a very difficult sounding mission to them, but the tension and apprehension could be felt as the helo sailed towards to mountains. The team still weren't too sure what to feel about taking orders from Price, without MacTavish there was definitely an air of insecurity to the team. Even Ghost seemed more stoic than usual, Hazard was sat next to the Lieutenant and she hadn't seen him move or breath once. She guessed that he wasn't too thrilled with the arrangement, but Hazard herself could barely hide her excitement. She knew that nearly five years in a gulag would never be enough to wear down the mind of Captain Price, she trusted him with her life all those years ago and she would willingly do so again, Price knew that. Her attention was swiftly diverted to Ghost as he gave the signal; they were planning to parachute into this one. It was better to keep a low profile when blended in with the snowstorm, staying together would be a challenge but it was the lesser of two evils.

Hazard was never one for risk assessments, so she only took a brief pause to examine the possible dangers around her after she began hurling a few hundred miles an hours towards the white abyss. Her vision was extremely limited, but as she yanked on the chord to release the parachute her worries were eased as she somewhat gently hit the snow near Ghost and Toad. After concealing the large sheet of tarp in a nearby brush she joined her Lieutenant and tore the goggles form her face to scan the area, she sucked in a sharp breath as the icy wind shipped her wind burnt skin. Hazard spotted Archer, Rocket, Robot and Ozone approaching. The almost alien feeling of anxiety began to twist in her stomach when she saw there was no sign of Price and Roach. She hadn't kept her full attention on the radio chatter whilst she was plummeting to the earth, but as she re-grouped with Archer, Doc, Ghost, Toad, Robot and Rocket her unease grew. The other men felt it too, they each exchanged somewhat uncertain looks but were quickly brought back to the situation at hand as Captain MacTavish's voice buzzed in their ears.

"Ghost, Price and Roach landed pretty far to your west. Price requested that you proceed with the mission and re-group if possible. Over"

The Lieutenant nodded once, after confirming with the Captain that he understood the masked soldier turned his attention to his team.

"Archer, Toad and I will take the lead. If we need to take anyone out it needs to be done silently and from a distance. Robot and Rocket will fan out behind and keep an eye out for convoys and stragglers. Hazard, Doc watch our six. Make sure no-one gets past you" He was answered with a hushed mixture of 'Rogers' and 'yes sirs', Robot, Rocket and Hazard stayed put while the others moved. Once they had cleared a few metres Robot and Rocket were on the move, they parted with brief nods to Hazard and soon it was their turn. She straightened her numbing legs and silently pressed ahead with Doc following close behind. The Australian medic was a brilliant doctor but not the strongest fighter, and the extra equipment he had to carry and his role in the team meant that he needed to be protected. Which meant that he was usually sent to the back.

She still had Ghost, Archer and Toad in her sights. They weren't that far away, but with the heavy onset of snow she had to squint and regularly wipe her goggles with her equally damp gloves.

They didn't encounter much trouble, they were heading for the village to eliminate a SAM sight so they were expecting it to be more heavily guarded than it was. It appeared that the Ultranationalists had focused most of their attention towards the main road and the forest. Archer and Toad had taken care of the guards along the way, the only action Hazard had seen so far was a few German Shepherds that had bolted from their dead handlers. The village soon came into view, but there was no sight of Price and Roach. Hazard chewed her lip under her mask, she wasn't wholly worried about Price, but Roach separated from the team was just asking for trouble. Hopefully Price didn't put the fear of god himself in him just yet.

The team of eight froze as the familiar whoosh sounded overhead, they simultaneously looked up. Their eyes were drawn to the almost comforting sight of a predator drone.

"Ghost, A UAV loaded with AGMs is en route to your position" MacTavish's voice rung in their ears.

"Rodger that" Ghost answered before turning back to the team "Roach has the controls for it, keep moving" Seconds after he spoke, a shattering explosion that shook the ground beneath them rocked the forest. They looked up in alarm, which quickly drained to dead as theirs eyes followed the debris of the recently destroyed drone as hunks of flaming metal drifted down to a SAM sight. The team were silent for a few moments.

"Someone remind me" Archer finally said "Didn't the intel we looked at during the briefing assure us that there would be no SAM sights?"

"It did" Hazard answered, tugging at her mask in irritation "But now it appears we have no air support and the Russians know we're here"

"We'll take it out ourselves" Ghost asserted, shutting the team members up immediately "That's out new priority, we need all the help we can get now" the team switched from their silenced weapons to more practical ones and moved towards the village. Ghost made a grab for an AT4 lying loaded and unused against a crate of Russian standard weapons. Hazard found cover behind an unopened crate as the ultranationalists swarmed, breaking cover just in time to see the masked Lieutenant make quick work of the SAM sight. Her chest loosened with relief as she spotted two figures approaching.

"Check your fire! Check your fire! Friendlies coming up at your 12!" Ghost called over the radio as the team approached a seemingly unharmed Price and Roach.

"Nice work on that SAM" the older Captain complimented, it didn't sound sincere to untrained ears but Hazard could tell it was sincere.

"Thanks, but we better hurry. Those explosions are gonna attract a lot of attention" the Lieutenant answered, a hail of gunfire forced them into cover. Hazard found herself pressed up against a half-buried cottage, the frozen wood numbing her shoulder while she re-loaded. She managed to take out a few enemy soldiers before pushing towards the submarine docks with the others. She stuck to the left with Price and Archer, relishing fighting alongside her old Captain again.

The village was heavily defended, most of the team were forced to switch weapons for new ones since they were using so much firepower. But despite the close calls and dwindling firepower they made it to the sub docks, it was a maze of crates, stairs and platforms. Turing the fight into an elaborate game of cat and mouse. The team stood on the hill overlooking the docks, the enemy was alert. but it appeared that they didn't know they were under attack just yet.

"The second Predator is almost in position" MacTavish's voice rang out over the gunfire "Make it count, these things don't grow on trees" Hazard glanced to her left as Roach crouched beside her, she hadn't even noticed him. The younger soldier opened the laptop and began scanning for targets. He eventually released a missile upon a stationary helicopter, as the aircraft was destroyed the activity on the docks quickly intensified.

"That got their attention! The whole base is on alert! You better hurry. You've only got a couple minutes before that submarine dives" MacTavish yelled, the 141 sprang into action. Firing and running as they spread out and dived for cover. Taylor took refuge behind an empty metal crate, Roach and his laptop in tow. He crouched to one knee and once again began scanning for targets.

"No pressure Roach…" a new voce yelled over the firefight, they looked right to find a grizzled Robot "But your aim is gonna have to be pretty damn good if you don't want to hit any of us"

"Yes. Thank you Robot" Roach bit back in irritation, Hazard shook her head at the American soldier. Who simply scowled and broke cover to continue the fight.

"I've got you covered mate" Hazard called while peering around the cold metal wall to fire on the enemy, Roach nodded once. Before releasing a missile that hit a silo ahead of them, the explosion rattled the ground beneath them.

"Nice one!" Hazard commented before hauling the man to his feet "We should be able to move toward the submarine, keep it up" She led the way, since Roach was only able to use a side-arm for the moment she made sure that he had the space to control the predator drone. As they neared the wreckage the last missile crated, the fumes coming from the twisted, burning metal quickly became constricting. In seconds Hazards chest was tightening and she began to cough, her gloved hands clumsily tore the mask and goggles from her head. The sudden rush of crisp, icy air caused a brief coughing fit but she felt much better, she spat the taste from her mouth into the snow and re-focused her attention on the fight at hand.

Roach had cleared them a pretty decent path using the predator drone, they made it to the sub just in time to stop the remaining enemy soldiers from entering the base.

"I'm going for the sub!" Price yelled, commanding the attention of the entire team "Cover me from that guardhouse by the west gate!"

"Roger that!" Ghost answered before turning to the team "We have to get to that guardhouse by the west gate to cover Price! Follow me" they pushed across the thick snow and wreckage, Ghost ordered Archer, Doc, Toad and Roach to follow him to the top of the guardhouse while Hazard, Robot and Rocket were told to cover the stairs and let nothing and no-one past them. Hazard pulled her hood up to block out the noise from the wind, she half his behind the staircase and began firing at the swarming Russian soldiers.

Once her mind had caught up, Hazard felt the tightness in her chest returning. Someone should have gone with Price, not because he needed the help. But he must need cover, the Ultranationalists would be swarming the place by now. She'd already spotted two truck bypassing them and heading in Price's direction, but all she could do now was put her faith in him once again.

A sharp cry of pain forced her back into cover, she looked in alarm as Rocket, now hunched over his knees clutched his arm to his chest.

"I've been hit!" He groaned over the radio, Hazard knelt before him and began checking him over, fearing the worst. But she sighed in relief as she found the entry and exit wound on his left shoulder. She lightly tapped the Hispanic soldier's temple, directing his gaze to hers.

"It's just you shoulder mate, superficial and non-life-threatening" she began poking around in her small first aid kit, she only had time and the basic skills to crudely and quickly clean and bandage the injury. "Nowhere near Doc's standards, but it'll hold for now. Try not to pass out on me yeah?" she gave the mechanic a small smile and tried not to grimace at the blood steadily soaking the fresh bandages, Rocket nodded once. Using his good arm to grab his pistol, Hazard searched the area for Rocket. She spotted him crouched behind an ammo crate. She switched to her radio.

"Doc, Rockets been hit. It's not fatal but he's bleeding pretty badly, any chance you could come down here and work your magic?"

"On my way, I'll stabilise and bring him up" Doc replied.

"Well that's no good" Robot inserted, his usual bite surprisingly absent from his voice "Looks like we're about to be swarmed, any word from Captain Price?" Before she could answer, the Captains voce silenced her.

"All right, I'm inside the sub. Cover me, I need a few minutes!" Hazard felt a creeping relief at the missions near end, but any hopeful feeling were quashed when Ghost suddenly yelled,

"Incoming! Two trucks to the east!"

"Oh, wonderful" Hazard grumbled, she broke cover once Doc arrived. When she was sure both he and Rocket were somewhat secure behind the staircase she made her way to the right, but was suddenly and forcefully thrown forward. Her head cracked against the icy tarmac, barely missing the corner bumper of the broken down truck she had chosen to hide behind, luckily. The padding in her hood had prevented her from being knocked out altogether, but it still hurt like hell. She felt an alarming warm wetness trickle down past her cheek, nausea swirled in her stomach as she tried to stand and shell shock racked her bruised body.

"Good effect on target, enemy trucks destroyed" MacTavish praised, it was difficult for her to hear through the white noise washing through her brain. But Hazard knew she had to pull herself together, and quick. She levelled her weapon and managed to keep the onslaught of enemies pinned a few metres away, she silently willed Price to hurry the hell up so she could find Doc and possibly throttle Roach for his terrible missile shooting.

"Contact to the north, on the dock next to the sub!" Ghost warned, the direction of fire quickly turned as the 141 desperately tried the keep the Ultranationalists off of Price's back. But Hazard and Robot were being pushed farther and farther back, they couldn't keep their attention everywhere at once.

"Robot, Hazard. Re-group at the top of the guardhouse" Ghost ordered "You're getting swarmed down there"

The two soldier complied, but Hazard. Still shaken from the drone's missile barely kept the stumble out of her run, it was a chore dragging herself up the stairs. She all but passed out in Roach's arms as he hauled her onto the frozen platform.

"Shit, what happened to you?" Roach asked as Hazard braced herself against a crate, knocking an empty RPG to the ground in her daze.

"Your terrible aim. That's what happened" She bit back with more venom than intended, the warm trickle she felt on her cheek earlier had dribbled down to her neck. The ache in her head intensified and she very nearly vomited when Doc helped her up to give her injury a once over.

"Looks pretty deep" The Aussie said as he began cleaning and bandaging "You must have hit the tarmac hard, it'll need stitches" Hazard wasn't even listening, her attention was commanded by the hiss of the silo doors on the sub began to open. And icy dread spread through her, where was Price? He should have disarmed it by now.

"Price, are you there? The silo doors are opening on the sub, I repeat, the silo doors are opening on the sub!" Ghost was screaming, he sounded almost frantic. The rest of the team could only watch in confusion and alarm, no response on the radio. Hazard slowly stood with Doc's help, she calmly made her way to the railing and braced herself against the cold metal next to Ghost.

"Price, come in! They're opening the silo doors on the sub! Hurry!"

Hazard swallowed thickly, Price was still alive. She knew it, but what was he playing at? It was slowly becoming clear to her that there was an ulterior motive at work here, Captain Price doesn't just waltz in and disarm weapons, that's not Captain Price's way of doing things. Her dread grew as her mind played back to the briefing, the words Price had spoken to Shepherd.

_"We got ourselves a pretty big fire. Gonna need a huge bang"_

She hoped and prayed to each and every deity that she was wrong. The silo doors were fully opened now…

"Price, do you copy?! The silo doors are open! I repeat, the silo doors are open!" Ghost was angry now, he must have sensed something was wrong too.

"Good"

The ground shook, violently. Robot, Roach and Doc were actually knocked of their feet, Hazard and Ghost would have been too if they hadn't been clutching the railing for dear life. Archer and Toad, who were lying prone very nearly rolled off of the platform completely. The soldiers watched in horror a nuclear missile detached itself and steadily climbed towards the sky, another wave of nausea rocked Hazard body. She swallowed thickly, barely registering the Lieutenants enraged screaming next to her.

"Wait - wait, Price, no! We have a nuclear missile launch. Missile in the air! Missile in the air! Code Black, Code Black!"

* * *

><p>The atmosphere in the chopper back to base was awkward, to say the least. Robot had gone completely ballistic, being the only American on the team. When Price had approached the stunned team Robot very nearly attacked, the look in his eyes was murderous. He probably would have strangled him, if Hazard hadn't got between them, she was barely able to talk him down. She honestly thought he was going to beat her to death to get to Price, but he eventually restrained himself. Barely.<p>

Ghost was even more pissed, but he knew Price well enough to know that he wouldn't be getting answers from the old Captain any time soon. So he opted for bitching to a probably equally stunned and exhausted MacTavish, the rest of the team was silent. Rocket had finally passed out. But Doc assured them he was fine, but he still needed to be hooked up to a blood bag for the journey home. They sat in separate areas of the chopper, Ghost huddled with Robot who was looking murderous once again. Doc worked on Hazard, fixing paper stitches to the gash along her forehead. He'd confirmed that she would need stitches, something she was less than exited for. Archer and Toad sat with one another, making quiet conversation that deliberately wasn't supposed to be heard.

"Well" Doc said quietly, prodding the final paper stitch into place "When we get back to base I'll have to treat you for nausea, try not to fall asleep, and If you feel the need to puke. Do it away from us okay?" Hazard snorted, but appreciated his attempt at light humour. She nodded, watching as Doc retreated to where Robot lay. She leaned her aching head against the cold metal, willing her eyes to stay open. She glanced at the far corner where Price sat, his boonie hat pulled far over his eyes and a cigar hung loosely from his mouth, the smoke twirling lazily and dissipating into thin air. Hazard sipped from her water bottle, she had shed her heavy coat and tactical armour and was sitting relatively comfortably in her black thermals. But the cold was still biting, she waited a few more moments. The men around her were engrossed in their conversations, she slowly stood. Swallowing another mouthful of water to stem the clenching in her stomach. She carefully picked her way towards the Captain, feeling Ghost's eyes bore into the back of her skull for the whole journey.

She sat herself on the floor before Price, leaning back against the titanium wall and brining her knees up to her chest. She had no idea what to say, the man had just released a nuclear missile the incapacitated most of America. Price looked up, his brown furrowing slightly before a smirk ever so lightly touched his lips.

"That" She began quietly "Was a very Captain Price thing to do, if I may say so sir" Price seemed mildly surprised, he tilted his hat back and removed the cigar from his mouth.

"You don't seem very surprised" He replied smoothly "In fact, you were the only one who didn't look like you wanted me dead. You looked more, disappointed" He paused "That you were right, you're the only one here who knows what I'm willing to do" he held her gaze, Hazard was silent for a long time.

"I'm not going to bother asking why you fired the missile instead of disarming it" she probed the bandages on her head, breaking eye contact and fixing it to the floor.

"Come on Trafford" She glanced up at the sound of her surname, Price was smirking now. Very nearly grinning "You're still a smart woman, you know why I did it" more silence, Hazard sighed.

"The resulting EMP would destroy most, if not all electrical systems in its radius. Ruining the Russians' equipment as well as the Americans', at least giving them a fighting chance to re-claim their country" Price nodded "If they're not crushed by their own falling helicopters first, that is"

"Ah, haven't lost your sense of humour I see" Price quipped, taking a few drags from his cigar. He seemed to notice the dry blood on her face and neck for the first time "What happened to your face?"

"I fell over sir" Hazard said after another long silence. Price almost snorted, not surprised in the slightest that she had managed to get herself hurt again. Hazard bit her lip "Shepherd's gonna be furious sir, can't even imagine what he's putting Soap through at the moment" Silence.

"Someone needs to make the tough decisions, you know I've only ever looked at the bigger picture" Price said eventually, Hazard grunted in agreement. That, she knew. But there was so much she was still desperate to ask him, questions about the gulag and how he managed to piss of Makarov to the point where the Ultranationalist nearly destroyed and impenetrable fortress just to get to him, but she stuck to the most pressing question for the moment.

"Now what?" she asked. Price's expression grew serious again, he stubbed his cigar out under his boot and pulled his hat back over his eyes.

"We find Makarov"

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for the wait, but there's only one more chapter left!<strong>

**Hope you enjoyed :)**

**xxx**


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